11/15/20203 – A Voice from Heaven
John 12: 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Before our Lord was facing the cross, His prayer to the Father was: Glorify your name! This was such a powerful prayer that God the Father answered from heaven in an audible voice. This is the greatest prayer in any circumstance because when our lives glorify His name, even if we have to suffer, our suffering will be turned into joy.
The Lord Jesus called us to live in a way that is pleasing to God! Yes, He called us to salvation…He called us to be blessed…He called us to overcome difficulties…but above all that, while we live in this world, if we are truly disciples of Christ, we have been called to live in a way that glorifies God. Our main concern in this life should be: Am I living in a way that glorifies God? Is God pleased with me?
We live in a selfish world. The dominant form of idolatry today is the worship of the self. The devil tries to convince us that the world should revolve around us. This is why so many come to God expecting and demanding service from God and from others.
The questions we should be asking are: is what we are doing pleasing to God? Is my worship, are my actions, pleasing to God? We should be more concerned with glorifying God than seeking what is beneficial to us, or the approval of people.
Does your life glorify God? You must answer this question now. We should not wait for death to find out. We should make sure NOW and we can make sure NOW. We should regularly examine ourselves, our lives, our actions, to make sure that we are glorifying God!