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FOR THE GLORY OF GOD “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev 4:11) On page 172 of Frank Meade’s "12,000 Religious Quotations," there is a quote from a gravestone that has always greatly impressed me. In fact, it’s probably my favorite all-time quote. I have read through all of the 12,000 quotations and marked maybe six or seven hundred, but this one’s my favorite: “Here lies the body of John Smith, who for forty years cobbled shoes in this village to the glory of God.” I don’t know where or exactly when this John Smith lived and cobbled (repaired) shoes, but I do know that his life work meant more to God than that of most people living today. His life work meant more to God than that of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfry, Lebron James, Snoop Dog, Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe combined, because John Smith lived his life for the glory of God while the others lived for themselves. One of the hardest things to do in life is to REMAIN FOCUSED, plow your own row for the glory of God, and not worry about what others are doing. Eleanor Roosevelt is often quoted for saying, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” It’s sad, but if you’ll think about it, most everyone you know enjoys talking about people and events. Most preachers that I know will talk only about people and events; going here or there and hearing or seeing this or that person or people. That tells me a lot about people. It tells me that most people are not focused on their own lives and their own responsibilities to God. They’d rather hang out in someone else’s field than plow their own row in their own field, because they’ve convinced themselves that what someone else is doing is more important and more interesting than what they are doing. Friend, I can assure you that NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU ARE DOING, IF YOU ARE DOING THE WILL OF GOD FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. The fact that lots of people might not know about it doesn’t matter, because God knows about it and God is a flawless record keeper. Referring to Moses, Hebrews 11:26-27 says, “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” (Heb. 11:26-27) Did you get that? AS SEEING HIM who is invisible. Through the eyes of faith, Moses saw God every day, and when you see God every day, every day has purpose, every day is important, and every day is interesting. In fact, you just might get so busy plowing your own row that you don’t even notice what others are doing. I say all of that because that’s the kind of leadership that I’ve tried to maintain through the past, I have no intention of doing things differently. Let’s just remain faithful and focused on doing what we do for the glory of God. I feel that I am a very blessed man in that I honestly believe that I am doing what God wants me to do with my life and ministry. The hardest thing is just staying focused and not being distracted or detoured by the world, the flesh, the devil . . . or the brethren, which is often a combination of all three. Let me pass on to you some scripture that should help us to remain focused, as individuals and as a church . . . “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.” (Neh. 6:3-4) They had been mocking the Jews, even calling them “feeble Jews” a couple chapters earlier, but Nehemiah said “I” am doing a great work. Not someone else in some other ministry or occupation, but “I” am doing a great work, because “I” am doing what God wants me to do. The fact that no one else gets it is irrelevant. GOD gets it, and God gets the glory, and that’s all that matters. Much could be said about why we’ve stayed the course, but I think the biggest reason is that we haven’t had a problem with just being small, humble and faithful and letting God direct and bless and open doors as he sees fit. Too many have too much ambition and too little patience to wait for God to do anything, and that is often their downfall. “As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.” (Pro. 27:8) That means YOU have a place. Are you faithful to it? “Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.” (Job 39:13-17) See that? She should have remained faithful to her own duties. “And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.” (I Sam. 17:17-18) You know how the story ends, but David would have never became the great giant slayer had he not been faithful to the small and seemingly insignificant task of taking food to his brothers. He didn’t become great by saying, “I’m going to join the army and be a great warrior.” He simply waited on God while being faithful in small things. “So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (II Kgs. 5:9-14) See that. He almost missed the blessing by being too big for his britches. He had to be reminded by his unnamed, humble servants that God might not be interested in big and popular people and places all the time. Because he listened and humbled himself, his actions were later praised by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Luke 4:27), not because that was his goal, but because he was faithful to the will of God. “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” (I Cor. 7:20) So, EVERY man has a calling, even servants (vs. 21), and we must remain faithful to our callings. If we don’t, and we start watching others and comparing ourselves to them, then we are “not wise”, according to Paul’s words in II Corinthians 10:12. This is true in ministry, but also in the workplace, in the schools, in the neighborhood, and in society in general. Getting people distracted from the will of God is one of the chief devices of the devil. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (I Cor. 1:26-29) See that GLORY? “Here lies the body of John Smith, who for forty years cobbled shoes in this village to the glory of God.” That’s what matters! Not how many, how much or how big. Is God being glorified with your life, and is God being glorified with this church? At the leading of the devil, a great many people forsake the small and seemingly insignificant things that glorify God only to occupy themselves with things that glorify man. Don’t make that mistake. Very few Christians really know and understand the nature and ways of God (Isa. 55:8-9), so very few Christians ever find the will of God. Like Peter, they want to walk on the water instead of just getting in the ship and going to the other side, as they were told. God isn’t looking for heroes. He already has his Hero. He’s now looking for faithful servants. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” (I Cor. 4:2) In this particular context, he’s referring to mysteries of God that Timothy must preach and teach, but the general statement holds true in any context. Be faithful with whatever God has entrusted to you. Even if it’s cobbling shoes for forty years. “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” (II Cor. 8:12) You can’t be faithful with what you don’t have, so stop focusing on it and worrying about it. Be faithful with what you presently have, in the calling that is presently yours. Use your present time, talents and treasures for the glory of God whether others do so or not. “That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.” (Neh. 7:2) No doubt, the man had other credentials as well, but his top credential was that he was a faithful man. He wasn’t known for being “great,” but rather for being faithful. By the way, just a little side note, the Bible’s first mention of man being “great” is in an EVIL context: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Greatness isn’t always so great. So, just be faithful in glorifying God in whatever calling God has entrusted to you. “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” (Pro. 20:6) Be different. Be like John Smith. Be faithful. “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” (Jgs. 6:11-12) I’ve never threshed wheat, but I’ve done similar work, and I don’t recall any of it being great or exciting, and certainly not valorous, but there it is. The man was being faithful in his present calling, and then God showed up with a promotion, just like I Peter 5:6-7 promises. The world says to set your goals and promote yourself. God says to be holy, be humble, be faithful and WAIT. That way, even if a promotion never comes, your life had value and purpose because you glorified God every step of the way. “LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.” (Psa. 131:1) That takes some wisdom and humility, because the natural temptation is to assume that NOTHING is too high for me. He’s saying that he’s going to be faithful in plowing his own row and not worry about what others are doing. If God wants to open other doors, that’s fine, but that’s HIS business, not mine. MY business is to thresh my wheat today. My business is to plow my row. My business is to work in my vineyard. My business is to stay at my workbench and cobble shoes for the glory of God. I had Ambition,By which sin the angels fell:I climbed and,step by step, O Lord,Ascended into Hell. Rather than talking about doing this or that tomorrow, let us say, “I want to glorify God TODAY with what he has already entrusted to me. Tomorrow might never come, but the Lord will come, and when He does, I want to be found faithful in what I presently have instead of coveting what I don’t have.”