Back over to Psalm 21, which
Brother Stan read, Psalm 21. Well, you certainly have made
me feel welcome today. I've had just a most pleasant
day. I enjoyed our service this morning
and sweet fellowship this afternoon, and I'm just thankful your pastor
called and asked me to come down here, and I thank you for your
kindness to me. Psalm 21 here is the psalm of
David, in which David, in talking about the king, is talking about
himself, as if he were in the third person. And as we go down
through these verses, we arrive at verse 5, at a phrase that
caught my attention. He said there that his glory,
meaning the king's glory, or David is saying really here,
my glory, is great. in the Lord's salvation. And
that got my attention. I wondered what he meant by that.
And it caused me to begin to look up this word, glory. And
as I got to looking at it, I thought, well, maybe I could talk about
glory or define it in a way that even the children would understand
what I mean. And I think in our day that what
glory means is that It's what you get when you do something
real, real well. And it's also how you act when
you get some of that. Does that make sense to you? Let me illustrate it this way.
Did you ever see a track runner getting ready to run a big race,
and they set those starting blocks down, and he gets down, and he
gets in that stance, and the starter's gun goes up, and he
fires a gun, and those fellows come out of there, and they run.
And the fellow that's out in front, when he crosses that finish
line, you always notice what he does is this. Raises those
arms up, doesn't he? Now, what he's doing right there
is he's getting his glory. OK? He's glorying. You see, that's
what he gets. It's what you get when you do
something real well. And it's how you act when you're
getting it. And that's in our day what we do, isn't it? You
ever see that fellow hit the winning shot in a tennis match?
Throws that racket up, doesn't he? Runs up to the court, I mean
up to the net, doesn't he, with those hands up. And the boxer,
he's in there and he throws that knockout punch. Boy, those gloves
go up in the air, don't they? He's getting his glory, you see
that? He's glorying in his victory. You all remember the President?
The President, I remember him well. Richard Nixon, when he
won the election, what he did. Remember that, huh? Raised those hands up, didn't
he? You see that? He was getting his glory. That's how he glory. And the one that we see most
often, I think, is you can't turn on the TV on Sunday without
seeing that fellow going down the sideline, and he goes in
for that touchdown, and he slams that ball down, and then he runs
around that end zone, doesn't he? Huh? And what's interesting
to me about that is that, I mean, in our day, we even see, we even,
be at a big sporting event and the camera will pan back on the
field or whatever, and some fellow will lean over in front of the
camera and won't even go. Won't he? You see that? He's
trying to rob some of the glory even of the event. And I don't
know if you're getting the picture here, but we like glory. Boy, we like it. I mean, we more
than like it. We love it. We love it so much. And we'll try to get in on it,
even when it's not ours. We'll try to horn in, rob some
of it from somebody else, you see. Anytime we think somebody's
getting some, we want some. We want some of it. And the truth
of the matter is that man by nature has no glory. Not a bit. None at all. That's my first
point, really. You see, what got Adam in trouble
in the Garden of Eden is a pretty good definition of sin. You know
what Adam was trying to do in the Garden of Eden when he disobeyed
God and took that fruit? He was trying to rob God of God's
glory. That's exactly what he was doing. You see, God made the earth,
didn't he? God made that garden, made everything in it, didn't
he? And God was due all the glory for that, wasn't he? And you
know what Adam said? He said, I'm going to have that
glory if I have to take it by force. And nothing has changed since
Adam was cast out of the garden when he died spiritually. You
see, God gave Adam over to that sin of seeking to glorify ourselves. And men in our day, we mistakenly
think that glory is in this kind of thing. We think it's in power.
Why else would we strive for position? to seek money the way
we do. And we think glory is in fame.
Why else would anybody want to be a movie star or have all that
notoriety of a politician? We think it's in appearance.
Why else would we strive so hard to be beautiful and strong and
all these things? Turn over to 1 Peter 1 with me,
and let's look at the glory of man. 1 Peter 1. Man by nature has no glory. certainly not any real or lasting
glory. In 1 Peter 1, verse 24, it says,
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man is as the
flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away. I bet you the last time Kevin
cut the grass at his house, I bet you don't even know where that
grass is now, do you? And you don't even care. Because
it's all withered and gone away. And that's what man's glory is
like. I mean, who remembers who scored the winning touchdown
in the Super Bowl last year, running around that end zone?
I don't remember. Do you? That's because his glory
is all gone. He spent it. It's gone. It's
like the grass. It's gone. You see, the reason
man's glory fades so quickly is that, number one, unless you
do something perfectly, Absolutely to perfection. You know what's
going to happen? Somebody else is going to come
along and do it better than you did. In 1961, the world record
for the 100-yard dash was 9.9 seconds. A guy named Bob Hayes
ran it. I thought nobody in the world
ever ran faster than that. Do you know what the world record
is now? I think it's 9.1. I'm not even sure. But now, 9.9
doesn't mean a thing. Somebody came along and took
His glory, didn't they? No one remembers who held those
old records of glory in them. But also the reason man's glory
is so fleeting is turn to Matthew 6. This is a real interesting point.
Matthew 6. Glory is something like money
or currency. If you spend it, It's gone. If you boast or pride in your
glory, you've spent it. It's gone. You can't get it back.
It's as if it never was. In Matthew 6, look at verse 1.
It says, Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to
be seen of them. Otherwise you have no reward
of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory
of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward." It's all gone. The minute you glory in something,
you've had it. You've got your reward, and it's
all done now. And the glory turns to grass. You've spent it, you
see. Now, others can declare your
glory. But when you declare your own glory, it's gone forever.
You've had your reward. And when a man glories in his
own glory, the glory's gone. You remember that boxer Muhammad
Ali? He may have been the best boxer that ever lived. I don't
know. But I remember this. Everybody talked about him being
the greatest, but I remember when he started saying, I am
the greatest. And when he started doing that,
people despised him. You know why? He'd spent his
glory. You see, he was bragging on himself,
and all the glory turns to grass. When a man gives a donation to
charity, that's a fine thing to do, isn't it? That's a commendable
thing. But I'll tell you what, when
he gets his picture in the newspaper, handing the check over to the
president of the charity, well, he's got his reward. The glory's
gone. Look at Psalm 24. This really leads me to my second
point. The first point is that man has
no glory. But the second point is that
God has all the glory. Now, men think glory is in things
like power and appearance and fame and strength. But glory,
number one, listen to this now, is who you are. Number one, glory
is in who you are. And look at Psalm 24. Who is
the King of Glory? That's a good question. Well,
the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, strong and mighty, and the Lord
mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory
shall come in. Who is the King of Glory? The
Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the king of all glory, number one, because of who he is. He's the son of the living God. He is God, and therefore, he's
due all the glory. I'll tell you, if you were in
a boat on the ocean, and the sea, the ocean around you, was
glory, that's how much glory Christ has. You could sail that
way as far as you wanted, you'd never come to the end of it.
You could probe the depths and you'd never get to the bottom
of it. Jesus Christ has all the glory. He's the king of it. He's
the absolute ruler of it. And how can I say that God's
glory is infinite and eternal? Well, listen to this. Glory,
you see, isn't based on things, like I said, power and appearance
and fame and strength. If it were based on those things,
Christ would still be the king of it, and he'd still have it
all. Let's get that straight, all right? You see, because he's
worthy of all praise and adoration. If glory were based on beauty,
Christ would have it all. He's the beauty of holiness.
You follow what I'm saying on this? If it were based on those
things, he'd still be the Lord of all glory. But it's not based
on those things. It's based, number one, on who
you are. and on your person. And secondly,
it's based on what you've done, what you've accomplished. Therefore,
God's glory is infinite because of what He's done. He created
the heavens, didn't He? That's no small thing. He created
the earth, this universe, and all that therein is, the Scripture
says, including man. Do we really realize God made
us? God made us. Boy, that's Compared to what
we can do, that deserves some glory, doesn't it? But here's
the other thing. How's he done it? How's God done
what he's done? You know what the answer to that
is? He's done it perfectly. And you know what that means?
That means nobody else is ever going to do it any better than
that. I like that. I like that. Everything God's
ever done, he's done perfectly, which means that nobody is ever
going to get his glory. Do you see that? Because nobody's
going to come along and do it better than Christ did. I like
that. He has no need, you see. And
nobody, God's glory's not going to go away either because he
doesn't have to brag on himself. You see that? He doesn't have
to. No, you see, all creation speaks of His glory. And all
heavenly creatures, you know what they stand around in the
heavens doing, all the heavenly creatures? Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord God. All day long they sing His praises,
glorify Him. And you know what? Someday all
men are going to glorify God. Yes, they will. Now these principles and truths
about men having no glory and God having all the glory brings
me to my third point. That some men, some men have
glory in Christ. That's what David is saying here.
David is saying the King's glory was great in the Lord's salvation. And I want to show you how the
glory of God is manifested to men in Christ. Y'all remember
when Simeon, Simeon the prophet, he'd been promised he wouldn't
die until he saw the Lord's salvation. And here came Joseph and Mary
with the baby, Christ Jesus, and they handed it over to Simeon.
And y'all remember what Simeon said. Simeon said, My eyes have
seen thy salvation. But listen to what else he said.
I never paid much attention to this. Listen to this. He said,
My eyes have seen thy salvation. Alight unto the Gentiles, and
the glory of thy people." You mean this little baby here is
where my glory is? That's exactly what Simeon's
saying. Christ, you see, got great glory as a man on this
earth. Number one, because of what He
did. What did He do? Well, I mean,
for you and I, He did a monumental thing. From the time He was born
until Put Him in that grave, He never once sinned. So they
nailed Him on that cross, and the time He was born, He never
sinned. Boy, that's something, isn't it, to do that? Those of
us who drink water like iniquity for a man to never sin. You see,
He gets great glory because of what He's done. He lived a perfect
and holy, sinless life to perfection. He never sinned and He never
gloryed. Look at John 7 with me, John
chapter 7. You mean to tell me that the
Lord Jesus Christ, He never tried to get any glory for Himself? That's exactly what I'm saying.
He never tried to take anyone else's glory. He never did that. If He had done that, you know
what it would have meant? It would have meant He was a false
prophet. Let me show you that here in John 7. John 7, verse
18, "...he that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. But he
that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no
unrighteousness is in him." I didn't need some jury down here in North
Carolina to tell me that that guy was a false prophet. You
know, the minute he named his program, the Jim and Tammy show.
He was seeking his own glory. Do you see that? He's a false
prophet. Now, when some fellow names a
university after himself, whose glory is he looking for in that?
Huh? Now, get me a man up here who's
going to tell me about the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did.
That's what I want to hear about. That's a true prophet. That's
the true prophet. And turn a few pages over to
John 17. What was the Lord Jesus Christ's
motive in what He did? In John 17, verse 4, our Lord
Himself tells us, He says, "...I have glorified thee," praying
to His Father. He said, "...I have glorified
thee on the earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was." He says, "...I have manifested thy name
unto men." unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world."
You notice here, Christ didn't get this glory to give to all
man, did he? It says right here, it says,
"...to the men that thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word."
You see, how did Christ, how did He glorify God? Well, the
work he did, he fulfilled the holy law as a man, and he did
it perfectly. And now look down here at verse
22 of chapter 17. And the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them. That's how we get the glory.
Christ has to give it to us. It's the gift of God. What's
the gift of God in Scripture or elsewhere? Faith, isn't it? Faith is the gift of God. And
he says, I've given it to them, that they may be one, even as
we are one. And look at verse 24, Father,
I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where
I am, and that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.
Oh, that's amazing, isn't it? We're made perfect in one. That's
what I need, you see, is to be made perfect. You see, it's not
by taking Christ's glory. It's not by earning our own glory. And it's not who we are. It's
who Christ is and what Christ did. Moses said, Lord, show me
thy glory. He didn't say, share with me
your glory, did he? No, because if I put one little
drop in of what I've done, it all becomes grass, worthless. No. He didn't say, share me your
glory. Show me your glory. Show it to
me." God honored that request of Moses. Moses beheld the glory of Christ.
And you know what Moses did then? He fell down. He bowed down. Let me show you Acts 21. Turn
over to Acts chapter 21. Bowing down, acknowledge that
God deserved the glory and that It showed a desire that God have
all the glory forever, and refusing to bow down to the fact that
Jesus Christ deserves all the glory. That's a dangerous place
to be in. Dangerous place. Let me show
you how dangerous it is in Acts 21, verse 21. Acts 12, I'm sorry, turn back
to Acts 12. It's Acts 12, verse 21. And upon a set day, Herod, arrayed
in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto
them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It's the voice of a God
and not of a man. And immediately, you see, Herod
didn't stop it right there and say, No, no, no, that's not so.
He said, No, I'm not the voice of a God. Herod didn't do that.
He didn't give God the glory, didn't bow to the glory of God,
and look what happened. And immediately the angel of
the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory, and he
was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost. This is serious business
trying to rob God of His glory now. Now turn to Isaiah chapter
10. Isaiah chapter 10. Bowing to the glory of Christ
is the eternal issue. In Revelation 16, let me quote
you this. You listen to it while you're
finding Isaiah 10. In Revelation 16, 9, it says,
Men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the
name of God. They repented not to give Him
the glory. And the picture there is that
men in hell, men in hell, still, still, still will not repent
to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, they will. God's going to
put them on their knees. But you see, even men were scorched
with great heat, and they still blasphemed God. And look here
in Isaiah 10. I understood why hell is described
as hot. And see if you can pick up on
this here now. In Isaiah 10, verse 12, we read that, Wherefore,
it shall come to pass that when the Lord hath performed his whole
work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the
stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. See, he wasn't giving God the
glory. He was trying to get himself. Now listen to how he glorifies
himself, this king here. For he saith, By the strength
of my hand I have done it. And by my wisdom, for I am a
prudent," doesn't the pride, just the self-glory just reek
out of this? And I happen to remind you of
anybody you know? It sure reminds me of me. He says, "...I have
removed the bounds of the people, and I have robbed their treasures,
and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. And my hand
hath found as a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathereth
eggs that are left." have I gathered all the earth, and there was
none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.
Nobody said a word but what I gave him permission. Now listen to
what God says. Shall the axe boast itself against
him that swings it? Or shall the saw magnify itself
against the one who has drawn it back and forth? as if the
rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if
the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood. Therefore
shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among this proud king's
fat ones leanness. And under his glory, under this
king's glory, God shall kindle a burning like the burning of
a fire. And the light of Israel shall
be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and it shall and
devour his thorns and his briars in one day, and shall consume
the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul
and body, and they shall be as when a standard bear fainteth. And the rest of the trees of
his forest shall be few, that a child may ripen them." You
know what the picture is here? Man's glory is like grass that
is hewn down and dries up. And you know what it takes to
set that on fire? Just a spark. And I know why hell is going
to be so hot. Everybody there is going to have
drug all his glory there, right with him. Well, everything we're
ever proud of, Lord, I preached in your name, and Lord, I did
this in your name, and Lord, I did that in your name. And
that's our glory, isn't it? We think that's our glory. They
stand up in these services and just glorify, wave those hands,
don't they? Glorying in ourself. And I'll
tell you what, it's so much a part of us, we're going to take it
right to hell with us. And I'll tell you what, it must burn.
White hot. That's what God says here. I'm
going to light it on fire. Burn it up. Get it out of my
sight. Hold Isaiah 10 there. You see, you see, you bow to
the glory of Christ. You want to be one with Him.
You want to have His righteousness. But there's still a major problem.
You say, I've got no righteousness of my own. I've never done anything
worthwhile. We've still got a problem. You
know what it is? Look at Isaiah 10, verse 3. What will you do in the day of
visitation, the day God lights men's glory on fire? He says,
And in the desolation which shall come from far, to whom will you
flee for help, and where will you leave your glory? That's a good question, isn't
it? You say, all right, I don't plead any righteousness of my
own. I say, I want Christ to represent me with His righteousness. But I've still got a problem.
What am I going to do with this glory? Something's got to be
done with my glory. I need the perfect righteousness
of Christ the God-man, but what can I do to be rid of the sin? My glory is my sin. My so-called
glory, I've gathered it to myself all my life like filthy rags.
What can I do about it? I even bragged about it, boasted
about what I've done. Who can save me, not from my
sin, but from my glory? Who can save me from the best
I did, much less the worst? What do I deserve for my glory? Would a slap in the face be about
appropriate for my glory? Maybe a good beating. That's
what my glory deserves, isn't it? A good beating. Would that
take care of it? Would that get it out of God's
sight? How about if somebody spit in my face? Spit in my face. That's ugly. That's bad. Would
that be what my glory deserves? How about if somebody grabbed
ahold tore Terry's beard out, or grabbed Stan's beard and a
big handful, just ripped it out of his face. Would that settle
the account here of his glory? Could he leave his glory there?
How about if we put a crown of thorns and put it down on my
head? Would that satisfy God with what
my glory is worth? Could I leave it there? No, I'll
tell you what God's law demands for my glory. My death. My death. I've got to die is
the penalty for my glory. That's the only place I can leave
my glory. Or, or maybe somebody else would take
my glory and I could leave it there. You see, there was a man
who had his face spit in, and had his face slapped, and had
that crown of thorns pushed down on him, and had his beard pulled
out, and actually had himself nailed on a cross to die. I wonder
if you can see this. I often have wondered or considered
why they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. There's all kind of ways
to kill a man. I mean, they could have taken
a spear cut his head off or killed him any number of ways. But this
came to me when I was studying for this message. I know why
he died on the cross the way he did. You know why? He let
them take his hands and raise them up. Here he was in the most
humiliating moment of his existence. Here he was taking on the sin
of his people, taking on the glory of his people, taking on
my glory. And he let them raise his hands
up as if he were glorying in that sin. And you know what? That's exactly how awful that
must have been for him. And yet, do you know what it
means if he gloried in my sin? It's gone. It's spent. When you glory in your glory,
it's gone. Do you see that? And Christ let
him raise his hands up and nail them on that tree like that.
And when he did, my glory on him, it's all gone. He spent
the penalty of my glory. When glory is boasted of, it's
gone. Is it any wonder Then the apostle
Paul said, ìBut God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to
me, and I unto the world.î Isaiah 10-3 asks the question, ìWhere
are you going to leave your glory?î I can answer it for you. There
are only two places you can leave it. You can either leave it on
yourself and take it right with you to where God will set it
on fire, or you can leave it on Christ at Calvary. Thank you. Put it away. He'll put it away. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 9. Jeremiah chapter 9. I hope this
is all clear to you that Christ took my sinful glory and put
it away of Calvary and gave me His perfect righteousness. In
Him, I have His glory. You see that it's not my own
now. It's not my own. That's what substitution is.
That's not some big fancy word. What it means is this, is that
the reason I can leave my glory at Calvary in Christ is because
He gave me His glory. See, I don't need my glory anymore. I don't have a glory. It's on
Christ. But now I have His glory. That's
what the great transaction was about. In Him I have His glory,
great glory. For this is to be so, for this
to be so, I must be in Christ. I've got to know Him though now.
Got to know Him. And look at Jeremiah 9 verse
23. Thus saith the Lord, Let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches," those things are all grass, "...but let him that
glory glory in this, that he understandeth, and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and
righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,
saith the Lord." and turn to Psalm 96 with me. The 96th Psalm. But now you say,
if Christ won't boast of His own glory, and He won't now. He doesn't have to, because He
doesn't have to. But if Christ won't boast of
His own glory so as not for that glory to be spent How can I ever
hear about? How am I going to hear about
Him of whom I must know? Hmm? How is that going to happen? Look at Psalm 96 verse 1 here. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new
song. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord,
bless His name, show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare
His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people,
the way Unregenerate men are going to hear about the glory
of Christ is the same way you and I heard about it Is that
the whole what's the Holy Spirit's chief office? Hmm God the Father
God the Son and God the Spirit what the Holy Spirit's chief
office You know what it is to glorify Christ and you know how
he does that he lays it on the hearts of men To sing the praises
to sing the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ to do just what
we're doing right here tonight He'll lay it on the heart of
some man to get up and tell you how wonderful the Lord Jesus
Christ is, what marvelous things He's done for us to glorify the
Son. That's how you tell a true prophet.
It's somebody who's glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
someone must tell you by the preaching of the gospel, tell
you about the good news of the glory of Jesus Christ. He took
mine and gave me His. Salvation is mine because of
what He did and who He is. And look here in Psalm 95, verse
7. Look up here. For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His
hand. Today, if you will hear His voice,
harden not your heart. And then look over at Psalm 96,
verse 7. It says, ìGive unto the Lord,
O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and
strength. Give unto the Lord the glory
due unto his name. Bring an offering, and come unto
his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. Fear before him all the earth.î
Turn to Matthew 6, and Iíll close with this. It's no wonder that David could
say, My glory is great in the Lord's salvation. Matthew chapter 6. It's no wonder,
it's no wonder that our Lord taught us to pray thusly. He said in Matthew 6 verse 9, After this manner, therefore,
pray ye, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Now listen to this, For thine
is the kingdom, and thine is the power, And thine is the glory
forever, forever. Nobody's ever going to do it
any better than the Lord Jesus Christ did it. Who He is and what He's done
is all His glory, and it's eternal, it's infinite. Now, you want
to know what our purpose is and the purpose of why God created
this earth, created this world, and put us in it? Our purpose
is now and forever to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, to tell
how great things he hath done and who he is. Glory to God in
the highest. Now, that's what the gospel's
all about, to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I hope that
this has been a blessing to you all. I think a real good song
Joe said y'all knew this one is number 489. Glory to his name. Let's close the service with
that, Joe. Number 489.