Because of His Splendor

Introduction

Good morning to everyone. We’re going to begin with some Old Testament passages first in Deuteronomy chapter 26, the last verse of Deuteronomy 26. We referenced this on Wednesday night. He shall set you high above all nations which he has made. For praise, fame, and honor. And that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God as he has spoken. One of the things that we’ve been noticing in our study of Deuteronomy, how that God wanted his people to be a special people, to be unlike the people around them, the people they are about to dispossess as they go into the land of promise. And so he says, I want you to be a consecrated people. I want you to be separated unto me, and the results of that will be for praise, but it will also result in your fame and honor.

Similar statements would be made later of a couple of significant leaders of the nation of Israel. And I guess this sermon actually started as a result of an examination of the next verse while I was in Temple Terrace last Sunday morning. They were studying Joshua in the adult Bible class. And this verse sort of stood out to me. It’s the last verse of Joshua chapter 6. When it says of their military commander who replaces Moses as they head into the promised land, it says, So the Lord was with Joshua. And his fame was in all the land. When I read that, before I ever got to the back of the Deuteronomy text in Deuteronomy 26, that precipitated this, Joshua had fame. Joshua was known as a result of the military success that Israel experienced as they came into the land.

And this statement impressed me. Joshua was not always a military success. If you look earlier in the history of Israel, when they are fighting Amalek in Exodus chapter 17, it was going good and it was going bad, but it had nothing to do with Joshua’s leadership skills or his military prowess. But it had everything to do with Moses and Aaron and her, who were up on the hill overlooking the valley where the fight was taking place. Because you’ll remember, according to that text, that when Moses lifted his staff, they would be victorious. They were winning the battle in the plain below. But when his arms grew heavy and his staff began to lower, they would start losing in the battle. So it really had very little to do with Joshua.

Did it not? And so Moses is there trying to hold up the staff, and Aaron’s on one side and hers on the other, helping Moses hold up his staff so that Joshua would have the victory. And then there was the destruction of the city of Jericho. News of that probably spread throughout the land and far beyond. And then there was the matter of Ai shortly thereafter, where they suffered casualties and loss and did not win the battle because Achan had taken the devoted thing, something he was not supposed to take, any spoil from the city of Jericho. And so everything was not always a victory for Joshua, but by the time things are said and done, as Israel makes its conquest of the land, the fame of Joshua spreads.

Just as God had promised it would in the book of Deuteronomy. Centuries later, during the reign of one of its monarchs, a most noted Old Testament figure, David, the man after God’s own heart, in the last verse of 1 Chronicles chapter 14, it says, Then the fame of David went out in all the lands. And the Lord brought the fear of him on the nations. But not long after the reign of David, as the divided kingdom results, and ultimately, after a couple of hundred years, the people aren’t serving God faithfully and loyally any longer. Things go tragically awry. And they end up in captivity at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. And it is while in captivity that Ezekiel, the prophet, speaks of their past.

Really, the entire chapter of Ezekiel 16 speaks of what has tragically gone wrong in the hearts of God’s covenant people. But he reminds them in the process in Ezekiel 16 and verse 14, of their fame that they once had. He said, Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty. You were a beautiful thing to behold, for it was perfect. Not because of you necessarily, but because of my splendor which I bestowed on you, declares the Lord God. I mean, after all, the Lord had fought their battles. The Lord had given a covenant by which to live and to make their lives good, and he blessed them with plenty in the land. And yet somehow over time they forgot who was the instrument in their success.

Who had allowed them to prosper so greatly.

I’ve always loved these verses. At the end of 1 Corinthians chapter 1, when he says, But by his doing, and I’ve emphasized that, you are in Christ Jesus. And if we are indeed in Christ, it says, He became to us wisdom. There is no higher wisdom in the world than the truth that relates to Jesus of Nazareth. And not only has he become to us wisdom, he has become to us righteousness. In Jesus are the ways that are right. And sanctification, what Jesus accomplishes sets us apart for his high and holy purposes. And redemption. What Jesus accomplished makes it possible for all sinners to be reclaimed. We who boast, let us boast in the Lord. It is a quotation, actually, from Jeremiah chapter 9. When again, in dire times, just before Ezekiel’s prophecy of Ezekiel 16, just before the Babylonians overrun the city, Jeremiah says, let not the wise man boast of his wisdom.

Let not the rich man boast of his riches. But let him who boasts boast of this. That he understands and knows me. That I am a God who executes justice and righteousness on the earth, and I delight in these things. This quotation takes us back to Jeremiah chapter 9. If we have any reason to boast in what we are, it is only because of what God has done. It is because of his splendor that we are what we are. However others might regard us, whatever high and lofty thoughts they might have of us, whatever goodness or greatness we may attain. And I realize as I speak of this word fame this morning, that a lot of us are looking at ourselves, I don’t have any faith.

Very few people really know me. I’m not all that popular in the world. None of us are going to be splashed on television, I don’t think. But whatever that we are, just as David and Joshua and the nation of Israel had fame in the world, whatever position or status that we may achieve, however others might regard us as good people, or faithful and devoted Christians. We are what we are because of his splendor. And that’s what 1 Peter 2 is telling us when it says, you are a chosen race. Sanctified. A holy nation, a people for God’s own possession for a purpose. That you might proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. What is that passage saying?

We are what we are because of Him. He has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. We were once not a people. Why should we boast? Why should we boast in ourselves? We were once not a people, but now we’re the people of God. You have once not obtained mercy, but now you have obtained mercy. I’ll tell you who we are. We are people, as people who are devoted to the Lord, as Christians, we are people who have been given the mercy of our God. That’s who we are. And incumbent upon us as a result, we are to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. That’s our high calling. That’s the righteousness to which we’re called. We’re to abstain from fleshly lust, which wage war against the soul, and we are on a mission to keep our behavior excellent, so that when others see us, according to verse 12, they too may glorify God in the day of visitation.

1. In Salvation, a Place of Total Dependency

They may learn from us, they may see us, witness our good deeds, and want to do the same to receive the same benefits that we will. And so, as I think of that phrase, because of my splendor, it is because of what God has done that we have come to him. And we should never ever forget from whence we came. I want to make three observations about what we are in Christ and why. Number one, in salvation, we occupy a place of total dependency. As we saw in 1 Corinthians 1, if anyone boasts, let him boast in the Lord. We are what we are, Paul says, by the grace of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 10. And so in our salvation, let us not forget that we have come to where we come only because of him.

And not because of any greatness in ourselves. And whatever we might be able to attain, whatever good we might be able to do, in whatever sphere where we might have success as children of God, and as I look at the Apostle Paul, he experienced successes that I will never experience. But even his successes were due to the grace and mercy of God that have been bestowed upon him. He was unworthy of those successes. God made it possible. It was because of his splendor. One of the songs that Noah led the first song this morning, How Deep the Father’s Love expresses that total dependency. I was thinking of an older hymn, too. That we sing, The Rock of Ages. Some of you know these words by heart, verse 2 says, Not the labor of my hands can fulfill the law’s demands.

We’ve all failed. Could my tears forever flow? Tears over sorrow over my sin. Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no linger? No. You know, that’s our problem a lot of the time. Our zeal lingers. Our zeal is not what it should be. But even if our zeal could no longer, no. All for sin could not atone. Thou must say. And thou alone. All of those animal sacrifices, year after year, as we read about in the book of Hebrews that were accomplished under that old system, the old covenant, could not take away sin. Only the sacrifice of Christ once for all could do it. Verse 3 of Rock of Ages. Nothing in my hand I bring. That’s speaking metaphorically. Of course, we bring ourselves to the service of the Lord and we worship him, and we make an offering.

Living sacrifices, as Paul says in Romans chapter 1. But the point is that I couldn’t bring God anything that would satisfy my need. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling. Naked, I come to thee for dress. Helpless look to thee for grace. Those are great lyrics. Vile. I too the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior. Or I die. Oh, the wonders of his grace and his atoning blood. Verse 1 of the song, I saved it for last. Rock of ages cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from thy wounded side which flowed be a sin, the double cure. I really like that. Be a sin, the double cure, save from wrath, and make me pure.

Total dependence. And the reason why it’s important that we reflect upon that is that our understanding of that motivates all of our goodness and all of our efforts to please the Lord. All of our contributions in his cause, our contributions among his people. All of that is motivated by his splendor. What God has done. And may it never be so that I could have a name for myself, that I might find some elevated place in the minds or eyes of others. It’s all about his elevated place.

And not my own. And not only is my salvation a result of total dependency, and because of his splendor, even my eternal salvation is a part of such dependency. And I think that’s sometimes something we forget as well. In 1 Peter chapter 5, as young men are admonished to clothe themselves in humility, and all of us are admonished to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, we are admonished to not only cast our cares upon him, but to resist the devil. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, prowls about as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. There’s a very real spiritual battlefield that we are admonished in verse 9 of 1 Peter 5 to resist him. Firm in your faith. And then he says this in verse 10.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. All the time I’m speaking to people who question their eternal salvation. I don’t think that there’s any doubt among those that I preach to on a regular basis that when they were baptized into Christ, the sins of their past were forgiven. But what about the mistakes that I’ve made since that time, the missteps along the way, the failures in zeal that I spoke of earlier? I think sometimes we look at ourselves and realize that we’re less than what we probably should be. So then how can I be saved? We’re going to be saved eternally the way that we were saved initially.

And that is because of our dependence upon him. When we’ve done all that we’ve been commanded to do, we’re still unworthy slaves. Luke 17, still unprofitable servants, Luke 17 and verse 10. It’s not like any of us are going to get to the throne of God and say, well, God, I went to all those Bible classes. I sit in all of those assemblies. You’ve got to let me in because I did this and this and this. I know more Bible than a lot of people do. Most of the people in the world, I know more Bible than they do. You’ve got to let me in. That’s not how it’s going to happen. We will get to heaven the same way we got to salvation in the first place.

2. In Sanctification, We Have an Obligation

And that is through our dependency on Him. The Lord Himself will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. But there’s another observation that I want to make in regard to our sanctification. As a result of how far we’ve come, because of His splendor, we have an obligation. As we saw in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 12, we have a mission to influence a lost world for the Lord. And one thing the initial illustrations of the fame of Joshua and David point out is how powerful our lives can be for good if we find ourselves in God’s purposes. I want to digress for a minute and throw Joseph into the mix. Remember when he was in Potiphar’s house and he has enjoyed some success after being sold as a slave.

There were some bumps in the road that are about to follow. But there’s an interesting statement said about Joshua in Genesis 39 and verse 2, and it says, What? The Lord was with it. And here’s the thing about that. There were some twists and turns that unfolded that landed him in prison. For some period of time, he was even forgotten about. And so what I want to tell you is that when you’re in Christ, when you’ve been sanctified and set apart for his purposes, that doesn’t mean that everything in your life is automatically going to be pleasurable or as you would desire it to be.

That you are being used for his purposes and unto his glory.

In the moments of your pain when you are flooded with questions and uncertainty. Focus on your calling. As Paul would say to the Philippians while he was in prison, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Is that how you see your life?

I am what I am in Christ because God is working in me to will and to work for his good pleasure. Well, we know it’s true of you, preacher. You’re up there preaching his message every week. God’s working in you. But he’s working in you. In your circumstances to influence others for the Lord to show them the way that is right, whether they ever embrace it or not. You have a high calling in your sanctification.

When I was in Florida last week, after that awful game called the Iron Bowl, after Auburn lost yet again to its arch rival, Alabama. We went out as a family to celebrate the birthday of our somewhat adopted sister Jeannie Johnson, who is an Alabama fan. This was very difficult for me. And so we all go to Stonewood Grill to celebrate Jeannie’s birthday. Dorothy knows Jeannie. And we’re sitting here, I’m looking over the menu trying to figure out what I’m going to order, and all of a sudden I look down, and my brother-in-law Lee is talking to the manager. Now, he didn’t have a sign that said he was the manager, but I could just tell this guy was the manager. Dave was the manager of Stonewood Grill.

And I know that because my brother-in-law knows everybody. And so we go to a restaurant, and he’s already chatting up with the manager. He’s talked to him before, and I could hear some of the conversation that’s going on. Then he has a conversation with me about Houston and the traffic. That’s what he remembered about coming to Houston. And understandably so.

She’s one of the teachers at Florida College. And Lee goes, yes. And he goes, I gotta tell you. And I’m hearing this conversation that’s going on there. He goes, the kids that I’ve had working for me from Florida College have just been outstanding. They’ve been wonderful for our restaurant. And I thought about that. And that doesn’t mean every kid that goes to Florida College is necessarily a model Christian. That’s not what that’s saying. I don’t mean it that way. There are kids who have struggles. But here are some young people who were making a difference. Who had impressed their manager by their goodness, their kindness, their work ethic. They were not the norm. And those kids, I don’t know any of them. But the fact that this manager is talking about those kids who had worked around the one was a brother and sister, who had worked for him and had made such an impression upon him.

Listen, don’t discount what you’re doing out there and the choices that you’re making. And one of the major ways in which we influence others is by the kinds of words that we use, by the way that we treat other people. By our commitment to worship, by our abstaining from social drinking, as I’ll talk about tonight, and lascivious activities.

Talking to all of you. You are making a contribution to the Lord’s cause, week after week, and month after month and year after year, as we leave behind a spiritual legacy for our young people and others to follow. And you’re making a difference in your circumstances in the world as you go out and realize this mission. I want to attest to you, as we see in the lives of Joshua and David, the power of the God approved. God arranged, or God prioritized, and God assisted life. I wanted to give you this in a way that you could remember it. There is a power in the life that God approves. There is a power in the life that has God at first place in their lives. And all of that is significant because God is working in our lives.

3. As We Serve, We Are Being Prepared

God is assisting us as we pursue the course of sanctification. And finally, I want to say in regard to his splendor, that as we serve in his cause, we are being prepared. We are being equipped for eternity in his presence. We have a few years left. And that’s the way we need to look at it. I don’t care whether you’re 20 or 80. We have a few years left, and that’s all. And this time is a proving ground for the glory and bliss that is to come. And I think that’s just the difficulty that we don’t have a sense of that like we ought to have. David had a sense of that. And the thing that’s always impressed me about these verses, I think of this young man who defeated Goliath in his prime.

And yet later, as a king, when he’s writing these songs, he says, Lord, make me to know my end. And what is the extent of my days? Let me understand how short-lived I am. Let me know how transient I am. My days aren’t very long. My lifetime is nothing in thy sight. I’m just a mere breath. Surely every man walks about as a phantom. They make it up for what for nothing. He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. And I think of his son. David certainly had his riches, but I think of Solomon, who amassed all of these riches. 666 talents of gold, annual income. We can’t fathom how much money that was. Solomon hasn’t been looking at his bank account for a long time.

Three millennia. 3,000 years since David and his son lived upon the earth. It’s not very long. Your tenure here. Understand we’re being prepared for something else. And I’ll tell you what all this is about. Regardless of your understanding of what Revelation 21 and 22 is talking about, all the implications of that picture of the glorious heavenly Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven. Here’s the thing. Here’s what makes it all go. His bond servants shall serve him. That’s where it all heads. The plan of God from eternity involved such service. And I think of 2 Corinthians chapter 4 in this regard.

We have this treasure in earthen vessels. That’s us. We are the earthen vessels. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not of ourselves. He says, we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as bond servants for his sake. How long has it been since you considered the marvel of God wanting to spend eternity with the likes of us?

Conclusion

Understanding we are what we are because of him should motivate something in us. I think it’s one of the points of Psalm 103, and I want to read these verses with you without much comment because they are self-explanatory, really. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his loving kindness to those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west. And I think I got that right. East West.

Mindful that we are but dust. That says it all. That’s a perfect summary of what we’ve been talking about this morning. And all of this is on the heels of what he says at the beginning of the song that I wanted to say for this. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits. He pardons your iniquities, he heals your diseases, he redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like an eagle. Everything that is good about our lives as his people emanates from him. This is what the prophet Joel anticipated as he spoke of future Zion. He said, Rejoice, O sons of Zion, and be glad in the Lord your God.

He shall satisfy you with abundance. He has dealt wondrously with us. And so he has. If we belong to him. If we hunger and thirst, not for the trinkets of this world that have a very temporary reward. But if we will indeed hunger and thirst for the higher things of his will.

To be focused on that above everything else. Remember the God arranged life? The God arranged, the God assisted, the God approved life. Be filled with the Spirit, he says. What did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. They shall be satisfied. In John chapter 4, Jesus offers to quench our thirst, which nothing in this world can do.

In the living water that comes from Jesus that will ultimately lead to the ultimate relationship in his presence and ultimate bliss. Have you signed on to these wonderful things because of his splendor? What a tragedy if people so lightly value what God offers? Consider it insignificant, trivial. Preacher, I don’t need what you’re selling. I have a life to live. There are things I want to do, there are pleasures I want to have. That’s all so inferior. You’re still going to hunger. You’re still going to thirst. You’re going to want more and more. And that thirst will never be satisfied. And yet, so many people, when they consider that which does fill them. When that which has tentacles unto eternity and eternal bliss in the presence of the ultimate person, they say, I don’t want that.

I’m not interested in that. You mean I’m going to have to sacrifice? You don’t lose anything when you sacrifice for the Lord. You get it all. So I would ask this why would you fritter away your life? Squander it and waste it when you can embrace the bounty of God’s goodness and choosing to serve Him and to realize what Jesus has done for. Can we assist you to embrace the goodness of God and his salvation? Let’s stand and see.