I've been living with this verse now for some time, and I want to share some thoughts with you that God has shown me from the passages and from the Scriptures. I Corinthians 10 and verse 31. If you don't have a Bible, the text verses will again be on the screen. Notice he says, "...whether therefore ye eat or drink." He's talking about the daily routine of life. The entire passage in this section has to do with eating and drinking so far as an area of Christian liberty. There was a situation here in Corinth where people were eating meat that come from the meat market that was next to an idol's temple, and whether or not it was right or wrong to eat of that particular meat. And there was not a verse of Scripture that said, Thou shalt or thou shalt not. And so there was an uproar between the believers over whether you should or shouldn't do it because some would say, well, that was sacrificed to an idol and that meat's defiled and you shouldn't eat it. Another would say, listen, I don't even believe in idols. They're false gods. They don't exist. It's just a hamburger. It doesn't matter. I'm going to eat it. It's not a big deal. And so there was a battle going back and forth of whether you should or whether you shouldn't. You see, a lot of times we run into what we call these quote-unquote gray areas of life. We don't find particularly a verse of Scripture that says in certain things, thou shalt or thou shalt not. What do you do in that situation? Let me tell you what you do. You glorify Him. You ask yourself the question, does what I'm getting ready to do, what I'm getting ready to involve myself, what I'm getting ready to see, does this glorify God? In the daily routine of life, God said that it is our responsibility in life, our privilege in life to glorify Him. He said in this verse, "...or whatsoever you do." That encompasses everything of life. Whatsoever you do. Do all. Didn't say some. Didn't say part. Didn't say most. He said do all to the glory of God. What a passage. Would you underline those four words? The glory of God. Would you underline that in your Bible this morning? Now what do those four words have to say to us? Well, what is God wanting to say to us on this Vision Sunday in 2022 when we see this word, glory, and the Bible says, to do all to the glory of God. What does that mean? Well, I began to think about glory. Have you ever tried to define glory? We'll talk about, oh, that's glorious. We'll say, oh, He is covered in glory. Talking about valor and honor, that's what we talk about. We begin to try to define this word glory, and we find words, synonyms like spectacular and grand and majestic and exalted or honored. I went to the dictionary, and it's amazing how benign, actually, the definition of this word is. When you attach the word glory to God, it becomes even more difficult. Because when it comes to the glory of God, it is indefinable. You cannot put a definition to it. It is indescribable. You cannot describe it. It is incomprehensible. You and I cannot. The infinite, ineffable glory of God is more than mine and your mortal, finite minds can attain to. It's beyond us. Matter of fact, whenever people came into the presence of His glory, they fell before Him as a dead man. It overwhelmed them. The glory of God speaks to us. Say, preacher, what does it say? Well, as I was studying the Scriptures, and I was studying this matter of the glory of God, I realized that when I think about God and glory, and the glory of God, and the God of glory, it speaks to us of the radiance of His person. If I'm going to live for His glory, I need to recognize what does His glory say to us about God. And it says to us that it's the radiance of who He is. Glory is the essential nature of God. Glory is what makes God, God. It encompasses His beauty, His holiness, His majesty, His splendor, His greatness, His power, His eternity. All of that brings before us the glory of God. It was the God of glory that appeared to Abraham and so overwhelmed him that he would leave all that he knew to go to a land that, when he was in Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to a land that he had never been to and he didn't know the way. And the Bible said that when God called him, he went. What was it? He was overwhelmed by glory, and he realized that his life was to glorify God, and he was saying, God, I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know where You lead me, and it really doesn't matter as long as I'm bringing You glory, because You're worthy of glory. That's what he was saying. Moses would go up into the Holy Mount in the book of Exodus. He would be there with the God of glory on the slopes of Mount Sinai 40 days and 40 nights. He was so overwhelmed with God, although he did not see His glory, he saw the manifestation of His power through the fire on the mountain. He entered into a thick cloud to meet with God, and there the invisible God met with Moses. Moses had then walked with God for the next 40 years. to come to Exodus chapter number 33. He's going to make a prayer request that nobody else in Scripture has ever made. It was there that he would say to God on the top of one of those mountains. He was so overwhelmed with who He was. He said, God, if You would, God, if You could, God, if You please, show me Your glory. I want to see Your glory. God, what I've experienced is making me hungry for more. Would You help me to see You? Nobody ever made that prayer request before. God said to him, Moses, I'm paraphrasing, you can't see my face and live. Because sinful flesh can't live in the presence of undiminished glorious deity. He dwells in the light that no man can approach into. Can I tell you, it was there that God took the great lawgiver and placed him in the cleft of a rock, put his hand over him, and God passed by. Can you imagine that? God was protecting Moses from that which would kill him, which was the unveiled glory of who he was. And then he removed his hand. Here's the answer to prayer. And he said, I'm just going to let you see my afterglow. I'm going to let you see the skirts of my glory. And Moses, that's going to be enough for right now because there's going to come a day you'll see the rest of it. It was the God of glory that led and accompanied and protected Israel as they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. That glory cloud would fill the tabernacle and later the temple in such a marvelous, magnificent way that the Bible says that the priests couldn't stand to minister, that the presence of God was so real and so powerful and so overwhelming, they couldn't even do what they were supposed to be doing. They were just overwhelmed with God. That same glory set atop a mercy seat behind a veil signifying the visible presence of God, and only the high priest could go beyond that veil, and then only once a year. And friend, listen to me, that was just the outshining of His glory. Isaiah would see a... He would see the person of God, but yet not the person of God. It would be the second person of the Trinity. It would be a Christophany with the glory of God surrounding Him on the throne there in the temple. And in His train, He just saw the train that filled the temple and the seraphim around the throne crying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. But yet the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration would be overwhelmed when they would see the Son of God, who right there before them, His transcendent glory would suddenly show through His flesh and His clothes glistened wider than any launderer, they said, could make them. And His face shone with the brightness of the noonday sun. And they were overwhelmed so much that they didn't even know what they were saying because Elijah and Moses was there. And they said, Lord, let us make some tabernacles, one for You and Moses and Elijah. Then God came on the scene, the Father, and He said, This is My beloved Son. You hear Him. They were overwhelmed by God. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, would be being stoned and heaven would open and he said, I see the glory of God and I see Jesus standing at the right hand. Wow! It was that glory that Paul saw when he was called up to the third heaven and saw things that weren't lawful for a man to utter. It was that glory that John saw when he saw Him sitting upon the throne in Revelation 4 and 5. It's the glory that you and I will see when King Jesus will turn to this earth in all of His majesty, in all of His glory, in all of His splendor. Friend, can I tell you, there won't have to be an announcement when He comes. His glory will fill the universe. Dear child of God, His glory is what you and I will enjoy throughout all eternity in the new Jerusalem, on the new earth that has no need of the light of the sun or the moon or the stars, for the glory of God doth lighten it." Can I just simply put it this way? The glory of God is the essence of who He is. It's the radiance of His person. Could I share with you a second truth that God showed me through the Scriptures was not only when we think about this matter of the glory of God is it the radiance of His person, but it's been revealed in Jesus Christ. God has revealed His glory in His Son. Listen to Hebrews chapter 1 and verse number 3. Who being the brightness. That's a synonym for radiance. Who being the brightness or the radiance of His glory. And the express image of His person. You know what that says to me? All that God the Father is, God the Son is. And He is the visible expression of the invisible God. And He had to veil His glory that He might walk among men. He robed it in human flesh. He only let it out one time on the Mount of Transfiguration, and Peter said, we saw Him for who He really was. Could I say this? Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the glory of God in human flesh. Colossians 2.9, the Bible says, For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. John would put it this way in the introduction to his gospel, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. James Irwin was commander of Apollo 15. He was one of the first to walk on the moon. And he said he never felt closer to God than on his flight in space. He shares that while he was walking on the moon, the thought came to him that this is the greatest event in the history of the world. A man is walking on the moon. And he said at that moment, God spoke to him and said, Erwin, I did something greater than that. I walked on the earth. Let that sink in for a while. You say, Preacher, I want to see His glory. You can. You see, if you want to see God's glory, then look at Jesus. Because every page of every scripture that shows you the Son of God, you're seeing the glory of God embodied in who He is. Friend, we need to fall in love with Jesus. If you're going to glorify God, you need to fall in love with Jesus all over again. He needs to become front and center in your life. 2 Corinthians 4, 6 talks about when you and I became Christians, when we were saved. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, that was creation. Remember there was a time in the universe it was just utter darkness, and then God commanded and said, let there be light, and guess what there was? There was light. And he said, The God that commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts. Friend, there was a time that my heart was dark and it was full of sin and blackness and wickedness. And thanks be to God, there was a day that the light shone into my heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And friend, at that moment, we were forever changed. A little taste of glory. And Christ, we're made the partakers of His glory. Can you imagine that? That we're partakers of His glory. Jot down Colossians 127. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Do you catch it? God lives in me. The embodiment of the glory of God lives in us. We're made partakers of His glory. God lives in you, dear child of God. The God that appeared to Abraham, that shone His hundred parts, and the afterglow to Moses, that followed the children of Israel through the wilderness, that sat atop the mercy seat. That God lives in you if you're saved today. Think about that. Oh, don't ever get over the fact that God lives in you. Do you remember what God told Moses? No man can see Me and live, Moses. Sin cannot live in the undiminished presence of God in His glory. It can't do it. That's why the Bible said that He dwells in the light that no man can approach Him to. The first person of the Trinity. You see, we're sinful creatures. We've fallen short of the glory of God. Not some of sin, not most of sin. God said all of sin. That means you're a sinner and I'm a sinner this morning. Every sinner needs to be saved. And I'm just going to tell you that if you're not saved, you can't live in the presence of God. You can't spend eternity in heaven because you can't live in his sin, can't live in his presence. Can't. Preacher, how can sinful men live with the God of glory. How does that happen? Because God gave us a mediator. A go-between. Listen to I Timothy 2.5, For there is one God, not many gods. Don't get caught up in pluralism today. There's not many gods. There's one God. The Creator of all. One God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. Can I tell you the Pope's not a Mediator, and Mary's not a Mediator, and the priest is not a Mediator, and the pastor's not a Mediator. Friend, can I tell you nobody can make you right with God but His Son Jesus Christ. Thank God because of Him I can go in. At Calvary, Jesus Christ, think about it, placed one hand in the hand of the glorious God, and His other hand in the hands of sinful men, and He brought us together through His cross and made us partakers of His glory. The moment we receive Jesus Christ as Savior and enter into Christ, Christ enters into us. God receives us into His presence. through His Son, Christ in you, the hope of glory, dear child of God, the day you were saved, you didn't know it, I didn't understand it as a 17-year-old young man, but friend, at that moment I was made a partaker of God's glory. But I want to take you a step further as His child, one day you're going to share in His glory. Let me give you another verse, Romans chapter 8 and verse 17. And if children, then heirs. You know, one of the things about being a child is you're an heir. Something's bequeathed. My Father's bequeathed us. Listen, He's rich in houses and lands. Oh, all the wealth of the world is in His hands. But can I tell you, that's not what makes us rich. He can give you all of that and it'll never make you happy. It'll never bring you satisfaction. It'll never give you purpose and meaning for life. All that is found in Him. He is our treasure. Oh, but one day, oh, we may be paupers. We may have nothing of this world. But friend, you realize God says it's all yours. I have given the universe and everything in it to my Son. And because you're my child through Him, you're a co-heir with Jesus Christ, and everything I give Him, I'm giving to you. You're talking about being somebody. Friend, when you get saved, you're a somebody. You're a child of the King. And one day, you get to share in His glory. He said, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. It's not that he's going to give Jesus a little, and Brother Vernon a little, and me a little, and Brother Delp a little, and Brother Dexter Butner a little, and somebody else. No, no, no, no. He said, everything I give Jesus, I give all. You're a joint heir. I give all of it to everybody. I'm going to be starting a series of messages out of the book of the Bible that talks to you about how wealthy you really are, dear child of God. You just may not know it. You may not be living in that wealth, and I'm going to share it with you in the weeks to come. But Romans chapter 9, and that's not the book, verse 23 talks about the riches of His glory. See, you don't realize how rich you are. You and I possess the riches of His glory. It's no wonder, and I'm going to be preaching here too, it's amazing how all this sort of come together. Because our next psalm is Psalm 8. And David is overwhelmed with God. And he's going to say this, what is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him. Do you know what we are? We're nothing but a speck in a vast universe. The oceans of the world are thousands of miles in length, and some places are seven miles deep. And just imagine if somebody dropped you in the middle of it, how much of an impact you're going to make. You're not even a splash. Now take that and put it into the universe that's filled with its galaxies and its magnificence. that men have never even seen the ends of. And God tells us that when Solomon prayed, he said, Lord, he said, heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee. God, you're bigger than the universe. How are you going to fit in this little house I'm building for you? I got one better for you. How does he fit in these little hearts we have? So to speak. We're nothing but a speck. but that God set His love on you, that God allowed you to come to know His Son as your Savior, that God has put His hand on your life and your marriage and your family and your future, that God would be interested in you. David would say this, God, your faults of me, and he got overwhelmed. He said, they're more than the sands of the sea. I challenge you, next time that you're out there playing in the building sandcastles, just start counting the grains of sand. Tell me how far you get. And God said, that's how many thoughts I have for you and what I want for your life and what you mean to me and what I desire for you. What is man? God, who are we that one day that we're going to now we're partakers of your glory, one day we're going to share in your glory. And Lord, you give us the privilege right now of living for your glory. Oh my, those four words, the glory of God speaks to me. First of all, the radiance of His person. Secondly, they're revealed in Christ. Thirdly, I want you to get this, and we're going to come back to our text verse, okay? They're the rule by which we are to live our lives. Look again at chapter 10 and verse 31. Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, that's all encompassing. Do all to what, church? the glory of God for His glory. Christian, God saved you for His glory. You exist for His glory. Our lives find meaning by bringing glory to Him. It ought to be as we enter into this new year, our passion, our purpose, our pursuit, that of our lives as believers to live for His glory. Do all to the glory of God. Matthew Henry made this statement. He said, all we do, we should aim at the glory of God. Can I just stop and ask you, what are you aiming for? That'll tell me whether or not we're living lives worth living. In all we do, we should aim at the glory of God, at pleasing and honoring Him. Everything we do either honors or dishonors the Lord. Listen to me. Everything. Everything. Everything. Every decision we make, every conversation we have, every business transaction we enter into, every relationship that we enter into, every act of service, everything about our lives will either honor God or it will dishonor God. It will either glorify Him or it will rob Him of glory. I'm going to ask you a question. Are you ready? Does your life, the attitudes you have, and the actions you perform, does your life right now glorify God? Is your life, young person, is your life, Christian, listen to me, does your life glorify God? Does your attitudes glorify Him? Does your actions glorify Him? Does your worship glorify Him? Do you come with the motive in your heart when you come to church that I'm here to glorify God? But listen, does your home life glorify Him? Does your marriage glorify God? Does your family glorify God? Does your work life glorify God? Do you honor Him and glorify Him on the job? Does your recreation life What you do when you're not at work and at church glorify God. Do your future plans glorify God. We're to live for His glory and His glory alone. Church, I ask you a question. Why do we exist? What's this all about? For what are we aiming? To make us a name? To bring us glory? So that people speak well of us? Why do what we're doing over here on this grassy area that's now occupied by a building? What's that all about? Is it about us? Is it to make us a name? Is it so the community speaks well of us? Or is it for His glory? Is it so we can proclaim what we've accomplished? Or we can proclaim His glory because of what He's accomplished through us? Listen to me carefully, I'm almost done. The most heinous sin in the universe is to rob God of the glory that belongs to Him. He alone is glorious. That's why 1 Corinthians 1 verse 31 says, He that glorieth, Let Him glory in the Lord. Isaiah 42 verse 8, God says to Israel, I am the Lord. That is my name, and my glory will I not give to another. Have you ever thought about this, that God shared with us His love? He imparts to us His wisdom, and He fills us with His power. But He won't share His glory. I'll give you my power, God said. All you've got to do is ask and I'll give you my wisdom. I've already imparted my love to you. I love you with everything that's in me. But I'm not giving you my glory because that's who I am. I can't share that with you. And when you and I rob glory, the glory that belongs to God, we're robbing God of who He is. Ephesians 2.21, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Church, could I just close with this? Let it be our business in the coming year to worship for His glory that when we walk through these doors and that we come into this place that we're entering into the presence of God and we're going to worship for His glory. That we're going to be in tune with God. That worship is going to be meaningful in our life. That it's not just going to be a routine that we're going to go through. It's not going to just do what I do on Sundays because it's the day that I go to church and I'm going to worship. And most people go to church and they never worship. To praise His name. to give for His glory, to preach for His glory, to teach for His glory, to serve for His glory, to sing for His glory, to witness for His glory. Could I just challenge us this morning, church? In all that we are, in all that we do, let it be for His glory. Now I ask you a question that I asked you a moment ago. Does your life right now glorify God? If not, then you're missing the mark of what God created you and saved you to do, which is to bring Him glory. And there's where the greatest happiness and the greatest joy and the greatest satisfaction comes from. It's from being and doing what God has created and saved us to be and do. And it's for His glory. It is. Anybody, the prayer every day of your life, Lord, at the end of this day, help me to have glorified you today. Every time we come to the house of the Lord on the Lord's Day or on a Wednesday night, God, help me to have glorified you in your house. Lord, what I do for you is a privilege. Let it be for your glory. Help me, God, as a mother or a wife. This is a prayer. I'm not praying this because I can't be a mother or a wife. Help me be that for your glory, God. Not just so somebody can say, I'm a good mom, and I'm a good parent, and I'm a good wife. But God, that you're glorified. Because only you can help me be that. Or as a man, to say, oh God, help me to be the husband that glorifies you, and the father that glorifies you. Because you can't be a good father, and a godly father, and a godly husband on your own. Only God can enable you to do that. He receives the glory. If anybody's kid ever turns out for God, you didn't do that. God did through you. He gets the glory. You see how it works? Because without Him, we can do nothing. We need Him. I need Thee every hour. I need Thee. Oh friend, there's nothing greater than living our lives for His glory. I ask you this and I'm done. Young adult, young person, do your future plans glorify the God of heaven? Do they? Then maybe you need to exchange your plans for His. Maybe that's what we all need to do. Let's bow our heads in prayer.