A Short Life of Glory
How many of you remember the game show from the late 90’s called, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
Let’s play a quick round!
Who said…
“I would rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity.”
Was it…
A. Kermit the Frog
B. Taylor Swift
C. Alexander the Great
D. Balaam’s Donkey
If you said, Alexander the Great, you were right! And you’ve won 1 Million dollars. 🙂
“I would rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity.”
– Alexander the Great
There is something in everyone that craves a life of glory.
Making Your Name Great
Alexander the Great became king of Macedon in 336 BC after his father had been assassinated. He was around 20 years old. When he became king history took a turn.
His military conquests, leadership, and the spread of Greek language and culture began to shape the world and affect the trajectory of civilization as we know it.
Perhaps one of his greatest feats took place in 332 BC when he decided to lay siege to the island city of Tyre. The city was located about a half mile off the coast and was considered impenetrable.
Not only was it surrounded by water, making it difficult to access. It had fortified walls up to 150 feet high!
But Alexander the Great was not to be deterred. He ordered his troops to build a causeway, a literal land bridge, that stretched off the coast of modern day Lebanon to the island.
It was audacious and ingenious. And… it worked! His troops conquered the city which just added to the accolades and acclaim of Alexander the Great.
Alexander the Great wanted to live a life of glory! He wanted to make his name great. And… he did!
There is something in everyone that craves a life of glory.
Misdirected Glory
We want to be known, or at least recognized, appreciated, seen, noticed, and given a little credit for what we’ve done.
We live in a world where, if you asked our kids what they want to be when they grow up, they might say that they want to be YouTube famous! Or a social media Influencer. We live in a world where people are measured by how many followers they have on their platforms.
But it’s not a new thing, it’s just the latest version of an old thing, a desire for glory, fame, recognition, and attention.
There is something in everyone that craves a life of glory.
It is a natural longing to live a life of glory. A good longing to live a life of glory. But like anything that is good it can be misdirected, misunderstood & misused. But it is a good thing to live a life of glory.
A lot of us have gone about this in different ways, building up our own little kingdoms through accumulation of wealth, favors, and influence.
And like Alexander we may find a way to get our names written in the history books. But if we only live our lives for our own name, our own fame, our own glory there will come a day when we will realize it was too small a thing to live for.
Just think about it. Do you know your grandfather’s first name? Do you know your great grandfather’s first name? Do you know your great great grandfather’s first name?
I know my father’s name. I know my grandfather’s name. But I would have to go and look up my great grandfather’s name. And my great, great grandfather, I would have to look that up, too.
The point?
Most of us are only 1-2 generations removed from no one remembering our names. So living for your own name… I would suggest it is too small a thing to live for.
There is something in everyone that craves a life of glory.
Another Name
But what if we could leverage our lives for another Name?
It’s one of the things I love about Psalm 97. We don’t know who wrote it. The name of the writer of the psalm is lost in obscurity, but the One the psalm speaks of is the One who receives all the glory.
Over the course of 12 verses the psalmist paints a picture of who God is, why He alone is worthy of your worship, and what happens when you live your life for His name, His fame, and His renown.
The psalmist begins this way…
Psalm 97
The LORD is king!
Literally, YWHW is king! YWHW reigns! The Great I AM is THE King of the Universe.
This psalm was likely written for a group of people who were living in desperate need of hope, living in need of rescue, redemption, restoration, and renewal.
PALM SUNDAY: ‘Look, your King is coming to you.” – Matt 21.5
The psalm begins with this proclamation because these people needed some good news.
The good news is NOT that Alex the Great is king, it is the LORD is King.
For any people of any time who are under any kind of oppression, who are facing any kind of uncertainty, who may be overwhelmed with doubts or fears, this is good news… YHWH is KING!
And He’s not worried. He’s not stressed out. He’s not pacing the streets of heaven wondering who’s going to win the next election, what’s going to happen next in this part of the world, or if His bracket is going to get busted by this year’s cinderella team. He’s not A king. He is THE King. He’s never not been King. He’s always been the King. He’s seen lesser kings and kingdoms come and go. But His reign never ends.
Worthy of Worship
And when you remember this eternal truth, that the LORD IS KING! Then you can respond with worship! With the psalmist you can say…
Let the earth rejoice!
Let the farthest coastlands be glad.
You may wonder, Why does all the earth need to rejoice that YHWH is king?
And that’s a great question. What we sometimes forget is that our sin broke all of creation. All of creation is living under the curse of sin. All creation longs for God’s redemption, God’s restoration, God’s reversal of humanity’s sin. All creation longs for new heaven and new earth! For everything to be made right.
Just knowing that day is on the horizon calls for worship to rise, for the people of God and all of creation to break out in songs of praise!
The psalmist continues…
Dark clouds surround him.
Just like they did at Mt Sinai when the dark clouds covered the mountain and the Word of God was given to the people of God as Moses received it on the mountain. (Deut 4.11)
Dark clouds surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Righteousness: Everything He does is right and good.
Justice: His judgements and his actions are all just and true.
His character, actions, everything about Him is unquestionable. Unequivocally above reproach.
In fact, if you knew everything God knew then you would know not to question Him.
You may not understand it. You may not even believe it. But God Most High is right and just always and forever.
All Consuming
Fire spreads ahead of him
and burns up all his foes.
You know what fire does… Fire purifies and cleanses. It also consumes and destroys. And our God is a consuming fire! (Deuteronomy 4:23-24, Hebrews 12.29)
His lightning flashes out across the world.
The earth sees and trembles.
I remember when our kids were younger and there was a big storm, they would be terrified of the thunder and the lightning.
But now that they’re older, whenever there is a big storm with the massive streaks of lightning they have this AWE and WONDER.
The mountains…
Standing tall and proud and majestic in their own right…
…melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
Any majesty, any glory they have just melts away, fades away, dissipates and disappears in the presence of the Great I AM!
Awe & Wonder
The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
every nation sees his glory.
Have you just ever looked up and got lost in the beauty of the clouds, the indescribable colors of a sunrise, or the inexplicable nature of a sunset?
Every people in every place everywhere can know the glory of God just by looking up.
Every day the sun rises and the sun sets and the glory and goodness of God is proclaimed!
Because of that…
Those who worship idols are disgraced—
all who brag about their worthless gods—
for every god must bow to him.
I know what you’re probably thinking… at least we don’t struggle with idol worship.
And while most of us don’t have little manmade idols we worship in our houses and homes, chances are we all have things at the center of our lives other than God! We even brag about these things to others but in reality they are only worthless gods.
Any time we rely on anyone or anything other than God, it becomes the source we look to and depend upon. And anytime that happens, we begin to think less of God and we inherently become idolators.
But our God is a jealous God. He is the God Most High. He alone is worthy of all our worship.
Jerusalem has heard and rejoiced,
and all the towns of Judah are glad
because of your justice, O LORD!
When the people of God hear this good news, that YHWH is King, that righteousness and justice are the foundation of His eternal throne, and that He is coming soon… they rejoice!
They celebrate. They sing, they dance, they lay down palm branches before Him. Why? Because they know WHO GOD IS!
Who is this God?
For you, O LORD, are supreme over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
Here the name for God is: YWHW is EL ELYON. The Great I AM is GOD MOST HIGH!
He is exalted, alone. He has no rival. No equal. There is no one like Him, and there is no one beside Him.
He is God above all things. God before all things. God of Heaven and God of earth. The angels worship Him. The demons fear Him. Creation longs for Him. And one day all people will confess His Son Jesus as Lord.
He is the Lion of Judah. He is the Lamb of God. He is Author and Victor. He is Alpha and Omega. He is Beginning and End.
He is all knowing. All seeing. He is everywhere. In every time. He is the definition of LOVE. He is only Light. In Him there is no darkness. Winter melts when He returns. Evil runs when He is near. Oppression ends in His very presence. Captives are set free when He arrives.
His name is Truth. And his Spirit gives Life. He is El Elyon. God Most High. He is the ONLY One who goes by this name. There is no other.
And after painting this picture of who God is, after exalting this God, our God, the Great I AM as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, he ends this psalm with this declaration..
THIS is WHO God IS! He is EL ELYON. GOD MOST HIGH.
Who’s Glory Are You Living For?
And so my only question for you today is simply this…
Are you living your life for El Elyon, for God Most High, for His glory or for yours?
There is something in everyone that craves a life of glory.
Would you rather live a short life of glory for your name or would you be willing to live the life you’ve been given for the glory of the Name of another?
I want you to think just for a moment, just before we close, just what would happen if you did this. If you lived your life for the glory of God and God alone.
One Picture of Heaven
If you’re like me, you might picture Heaven this way. All of us, all of God’s saints, those who have been redeemed by God, saved by His love, forgiven and now free to enter through those pearly gates, to walk those streets of gold, gathered in one place. And you might picture this moment where El Elyon, God Most High, enters the room.
It’s as if He’s always been there, His presence lights up every corner, there are no shadows, there is no darkness, His presence fills the room but at the same time there is this moment where He enters the room.
Like a king entering the city gates with all the people ready to welcome Him and celebrate Him… you’re there! And as He enters you begin to applaud! Here comes the King! And then everyone begins to applaud all the louder, clapping their hands in worship.
He and He alone is King. And the sound of the applause of Heaven is so loud you can’t even hear yourself think but you know what you see… you see the King of Glory entering through the gates of Heaven to be among His people.
And that’s a beautiful picture. Perhaps even a fairly accurate picture of what might happen one day. But if I could, let me paint one more picture for you.
Another Picture of Heaven
Close your eyes and picture this moment in your mind’s eye. It’s the moment this life on earth is over for you and you enter into heaven. You’re not sure what will happen, what it will be like.
In the grand scheme of things you’re not sure you made a difference. You’re not sure anyone will even remember your name.
But when you open your eyes and you see those pearly gates and you walk through them on those streets of gold, you hear the applause of Heaven.
You’re not sure at first what you’re hearing. Who’s clapping and who are they clapping for? You keep walking, curious to see what the fuss is all about. And then you see it. You see the angels, the hosts of heaven surrounding the throne of God and they are the ones who are clapping, they are the ones who are applauding.
And then you realize, they are applauding for you! And you can’t understand it. You know you don’t deserve it. In the grand scheme of things you’re a nobody. No one on earth will remember your name after a generation or two.
And then you see something else, Someone else. You see the One seated on the throne, surrounded by angels, and He is clapping, too. For you.
And then you hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
And you are overwhelmed. You know you won’t be remembered in any history books. No one will be telling your stories a generation from now.
But because of the way you lived your life and leveraged your life for His Name, there will be people, more than you could count, who will know the name of Jesus.
Live Your Life for the Glory of God Most High
Today, may you decide who’s name and who’s fame you’re really going to living for, and may you find a way to leverage your life for the glory of His name, El Elyon, God Most High, and announce that the LORD is KING!
Psalm 97 ends this way:
You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He protects the lives of his godly people
and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
Light shines on the godly,
and joy on those whose hearts are right.
May all who are godly rejoice in the LORD
and praise his holy name!
One day, we may hear the applause of Heaven when we enter in. Not because we lived our lives for our name, but because we leveraged our lives for His name, His fame, and His renown.
Let’s live for the praise of His holy Name. El Elyon. God Most High.
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