This document discusses the concept of God's glory from a Christian perspective. It explains that God's glory is the beauty that emanates from his character and attributes. All things were created by God for his glory, and people can glorify God by dedicating all that they do to him. However, many Christians live with a "cat theology" perspective that is people-centered rather than focused on glorifying God. A dog theology perspective focuses on obeying and worshipping God as the main character and purpose of the Bible.

1. OUR MOST
IMPORTANT
RELATIONSHIP
May 5, 2013
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

2. MAY MEMORY VERSE:
Matthew 22:37-39
“Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all
your mind.”

3. This is the first and
greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
“Love your neighbor as
yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39

4. Saturday, May 18th
Vacation Bible School
Blitz in the Belhaven and
Northeast Jackson areas.
We will meet in
Fellowship Hall East at
9:00 a.m. for assignments.

5. We will be finished by
11:00 a.m.
There will be a party at
Parham Bridges Park on
Ridgewood Road from
11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

6. Hotdogs, fun jumps and
making new friends.
A great way to encourage
members to get involved
as we prepare for the
greatest evangelistic effort
during the year!

7. Contact Paula Webb, the
Children’s Ministry
Assistant, for instructions on
the sign up sheet for
Vacation Bible School
Refreshments to provide
refreshments the week of
June 3-7.

8. Don’t you hate it when
someone or something
comes along and bursts
your bubble?

9. The truth is:
It’s not about us!
It is all about God and His
glory!

10. Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB
5 Trust in the Lord with
all your heart
And do not lean on your
own understanding.

11. 6 In all your ways
acknowledge Him,
And He will make your
paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB

12. Acknowledge Him –
the King of Glory!

14. Psalm 24:7-10 KJV
7 Lift up your heads, O ye
gates; and be ye lift up, ye
everlasting doors; and the
King of glory shall come
in.

15. 8 Who is this King of
glory? The Lord strong
and mighty, the Lord
mighty in battle.

16. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye
gates; even lift them up,
ye everlasting doors; and
the King of glory shall
come in.

17. 10 Who is this King of
glory?
The Lord of hosts, He is
the King of glory.
Selah.
Psalm 24:7-10 KJV

18. All right, since God is the
King of Glory, then what
exactly is glory?

20. Isaiah 6:1-3 NASB
1 In the year of King
Uzziah’s death I saw the
Lord sitting on a throne,
lofty and exalted, with the
train of His robe filling
the temple.

21. 2 Seraphim stood above
Him, each having six
wings: with two he
covered his face, and with
two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew.

22. 3 And one called out to
another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is
the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of
His glory.”
Isaiah 6:1-3 NASB

24. What is the glory of God?
The glory of God is the
beauty of His Spirit - the
beauty that emanates
from His character and
radiates from all that He
is.

25. Hebrews 1:3a NIV
3 The Son is the radiance
of God’s glory and the
exact representation of
His being …

27. The glory of God, which
is manifested in all His
attributes together, never
passes away.
It is eternal!

28. Isaiah 43:7 says that God
created us for His glory.

29. Isaiah 43:6-7 NASB
6 “I will say to the north,
‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not
hold them back.’
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from

30. the ends of the earth,
7 Everyone who is called
by My name,
And whom I have created
for My glory,
Whom I have formed,
even whom I have made.”

31. All right, if we were
created for His glory, then
how do we glorify God?

32. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of
God.

33. It can be said that man
“glorifies” God because
through man, God’s glory
can be seen in things such
as love, music, heroism
and so forth—things
belonging to God that we

34. are carrying “in jars of
clay” (2 Cor 4:7).
We are the vessels which
“contain” His glory.

35. 2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB
7 But we have this
treasure in earthen
vessels, so that the
surpassing greatness
of the power will be of
God and not from us;

36. All the things we are able
to do and to be find their
source in Him.
God interacts with nature
in much the same way
that He does with us.

38. Nature exhibits His glory.
His glory is revealed to
man’s mind through the
material world in many
ways, and often in
different ways to different
people.

39. One person may love the
beauty of the sea…

40. …while another person
may be thrilled by the
sight of the mountains.

41. But that which is behind
them both (God’s glory)
speaks to both people and
connects them to God.
In this way, God is able to
reveal Himself to all men,
no matter their race,

42. heritage or location.
As Psalm 19:1 says,
“The heavens are telling
of the glory of God and
their expanse is declaring
the work of His hands;”

44. Psalm 73:24 calls heaven
itself “glory.”

45. Psalm 73:24-25 NASB
24 With Your counsel You
will guide me,
And afterward receive
me to glory (Heaven).

46. 25 Whom have I in
Heaven but You?
And besides You, I desire
nothing on earth.
Psalm 73:24-25 NASB

47. It used to be common to
hear Christians talk of
death as being “received
unto glory,” or “going on
to glory” which is a
phrase borrowed from
Psalm 73.

48. When the Christian dies,
he will be taken into
God’s presence, and in
His presence will be
naturally surrounded by
God’s glory.

50. We will be taken to the
place where God’s beauty
literally resides—the
beauty of His Spirit will
be there, because He will
be there.

51. Again, the beauty of His
Spirit (or the essence of
Who He Is) is His “glory.”
In that place, His glory
will not need to come
through man or nature,
rather it will be seen

52. clearly, just as 1 Cor 13:12
says, “For now we see in a
mirror dimly, but then
face to face; now I know
in part, but then I shall
know fully just as I also
have been fully known.”

53. In the human/earthly
sense, glory is a beauty or
vibrancy that rests in or
upon the material of the
earth (Psalm 37:20, Psalm
49:17), and in that sense, it
fades.

54. Psalm 37:20 NASB
20 But the wicked will
perish; And the enemies
of the Lord will be like
the glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke
they vanish away.

55. But the reason it fades is
that material things do
not last.
They die and wither, but
the glory that is in them
belongs to God, and
returns to Him when

56. death or decay takes the
material.

57. Isaiah 40:8 NASB
8 The grass withers, the
flower fades,
But the word of our God
stands forever.

58. James 1:9-11 NASB
9 The brother of humble
circumstances is to glory
in his high position;
10 and the rich man is to
glory in his humiliation,

59. because like flowering
grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with a
scorching wind and
withers the grass; and its
flower falls off and the
beauty of its appearance is

60. destroyed; so too the rich
man in the midst of his
pursuits will fade away.
James 1:9-11 NASB

61. James 1:10 calls on a rich
man to “glory in his
humiliation,” indicating a
glory that does not mean
riches or power or
material beauty.

62. This glory can crown man
or fill the earth.
It is seen within man and
in the earth, but it is not of
them; it is of God.

63. The glory of man is the
beauty of man’s spirit,
which is fallible and
eventually passes away,
and is therefore
humiliating—as the verse
tells us.

64. The verse says,
“The rich man is to glory
in his humiliation,
because like flowering
grass he will pass away.”
What does this mean?

65. The verse is admonishing
the rich man to realize
that his wealth and power
and beauty come from
God, and to be humbled
by the realization that it is
God Who makes him

66. what he is, and gives him
all he has.
And the knowledge that
he will pass away like the
grass is what will bring
him to the realization that
God is the One from

67. Whom glory comes.
God’s glory is the source,
the wellspring from
which all smaller glories
run.

68. Since God is the One from
Whom glory comes, He
will not let stand the
assertion that glory comes
from man or from the
idols of man or from
nature.

69. In Isaiah 42:8, we see an
example of God’s jealousy
over His glory.

70. Isaiah 42:8 NASB
8 “I am the Lord, that
is My name;
I will not give My glory to
another,
Nor My praise to graven
images.”

71. This jealousy for His own
glory is what Paul is
talking about in Romans
1:21-25 when he speaks of
the ways people worship
the creature rather than
the Creator.

72. In other words, they
looked at the object
through which God’s
glory was coming, and,
instead of giving God the
credit for it, they
worshiped that animal or

73. tree or man as if the
beauty it possessed
originated from within
itself.
This is the very heart of
idolatry and is a very
common occurrence.

74. Everyone who has ever
lived has committed this
error at one time or
another.
We have all “exchanged”
the glory of God in favor
of the “glory of man.”

75. This is the mistake many
people continue to make:
trusting in earthly things,
earthly relationships, their
own powers or talents or
beauty, or the goodness
they see in others.

76. But when these things
fade and fail as they will
inevitably do (being only
temporary carriers of the
greater glory), these
people despair.

79. What we all need to
realize is that God’s glory
is constant, and as we
journey through life we
will see it manifest here
and there, in this person
or that forest, or in a story

80. of love or heroism, fiction
or non-fiction, or our own
personal lives.
But it all goes back to God
in the end.
And the only way to God
is through His Son, Jesus

81. Christ.
We will find the very
source of all beauty in
Him, in Heaven, if we are
in Christ.
Nothing will be lost to us.

82. All those things that faded
in life we will find again
in Him.
www.GotQuestions.org

85. DOXOLOGY
Words: Thom­as Ken,
1674.
Music: Old 100th, Ge­ne­
van Psalt­er, 1551, at­trib­
ut­ed to
Lou­is Bour­geois

86. Praise God, from Whom all
blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures
here below;
Praise Him above, ye
heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.

88. Cat and Dog Theology!
Why are so many
Christians bored and
leading defeated lives?
They view the Bible from
a people-centered view of
the Scriptures.

89. Instead of seeing their
Christian life being all
about God and His glory,
they see it as being all
about themselves.

90. Most people don’t get
excited about the
Christian life until
Genesis 3, then they have
something to live for…
saving the lost world (lost
people)!

91. Genesis 3:5 NASB
The serpent said to Eve:
5 “For God knows that in
the day you eat from it
your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.”

92. They have non-verbally
communicated to
themselves and God that
the Bible is all about
people.
But the lost people are
saved to worship God!

93. Let’s make two bold
statements:
1) God is the main
character of the Bible and
lives to radiate His glory.

94. 2) The average believer
says the Bible is all about
God, but lives as if
humanity is the most
important thing.
Humanity often replaces
God on the throne.

95. Let’s look at two
examples.
First example:
What did God get out of
Jesus’ death?

96. Most Christians want to
say “He got us” but that is
jumping straight back into
a people-centered
perspective!

97. He also received glory,
honor, praise, adoration
and obedience.
Many Christians overlook
that result.

98. Second example:
Most people don’t want
others to go to hell
because they’ll suffer so
much (back to a people
centered perspective).

99. In Psalm 30:9, David talks
about the praise God
wouldn’t get from the pit.
Depending upon who is
the main character of the
Bible, you will have two
different theologies.

100. “Cat and Dog Theology”
Two main characters have
“birthed” two types of
Christianity.

101. These two differences are
seen in the different
attitudes between a dog
and a cat.

103. A dog says to its master:
“You pet me, you feed
me, you shelter me, you
love me, You must be
God.”

105. A cat says to its staff:
“You pet me, you feed
me, you shelter me, you
love me, I must be god.”

107. Dogs come when you call
them. Cats say, “I’ll get
back with you, maybe.”
They both look and act
“Christian” but there is a
huge difference in their
heart attitude.

109. Getting To Heaven
Cats have a tendency to
walk away from Hell.
Their sole focus is on
themselves. Dogs walk
toward Heaven having
fallen in love with God.

110. Many Christians today
are joyless simply because
they are still focused on
themselves and are only
running away from Hell,
not moving toward
Heaven.

111. Obedience School
Both Cats and Dogs want
obedience in their lives.
Dogs want to obey God.
Cats want God to obey
them. You usually see this
in their prayer lives.

112. Prayer
Dogs pray to establish
God’s kingdom.
Cats pray to establish
their own kingdom.

113. Quiet Times
Both Cats and Dogs have
quiet times.
Dogs focus on God’s glory
(they think, “How is
God’s reputation being
affected by my life?”).

115. Cats focus on themselves
(how can they better their
lives…?)

116. Blessings and
Responsibilities
Cats want all the blessings
and none of the
responsibilities.
As a result, two major
problems arise.

117. An incomplete Gospel
comes about, and they
end up with mixed-up
priorities.

119. Incomplete Gospel
Over time, Cat Theology
develops into an
incomplete Gospel.
Cats are saved from hell
and it stops there.

120. This is not incorrect, but it
is incomplete.
Dogs are saved from hell,
FOR WORSHIP AND TO
BRING GOD GLORY.

121. In Our Prayers
We often pray: “Father,
thank You for dying on
the cross for our sins”.
That is not incorrect, but it
is incomplete.

122. He died on the cross for
our sins SO THAT we will
worship Him and glorify
Him.

123. In Our Blessings
Cats focus on gathering
all of God’s blessings with
a bucket.
And once they have them,
they keep them.

125. Dogs gather as many
blessings as they can from
God and pass them on to
others.
They know that the
blessings are meant to go
through them to others.

126. Mixed-Up Priorities
Blessings and Glory
Both Cats and Dogs want
to be blessed by God.

127. Dogs hunger more for
God’s glory whereas Cats
hunger more for the
blessings.

128. Worship
Dogs worship God
primarily for Who He is.
Cats worship God
primarily for what He can
do for them.

129. God wants us to seek His
face – to get to know Him
rather than to always be
seeking His hand – for
what He can do for us.

131. 2 Chronicles 7:14 NASB
14 If My people who are
called by My name
humble themselves and
pray and seek My face
and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will

132. hear from heaven, will
forgive their sin and will
heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NASB

133. Why all these differences?
Dogs study “Theology.”
Cats study “MEology.”

135. One way God chooses to
reveal His glory is
through blessing us!

136. Satan’s Strategy
Satan doesn’t want
Christians to focus on
God’s glory.

137. Satan’s strategy is to get
humanity to focus in on
something else so that
their focus is off of God’s
glory.

138. As a result, we begin to
think that life is all about
us.
Because of this, we make
a foundational shift in our
theology.

139. Our focus goes off of God
glorifying Himself
through blessing us – we
focus on the gift rather
than on the Giver.

140. Our focus is on receiving
the blessings from God,
and we become primary;
God’s glory becomes
secondary.

141. Cats Are Living For
Themselves
Cats are basically living
for themselves in a
Christian context.

142. They’ve rejected other
“ways” of life and have
chosen Christianity as the
best way to live for
themselves.
Life is still all about them.

144. WDGG?
Dogs ask one key
question as they go
through life:
What Does God Get?

145. Cats exit a worship
service saying, “I didn’t
get a thing out of that!”
Dogs ask, “What did God
get?” WDGG?

146. As a result, they realize
that life is for God, it is
not just for us.
We are here :
To enjoy God’s grace and
to extend God’s glory.

147. A Prayer Of Repentance
“Father, forgive us
for thinking life was about
us and not You,
for advancing our
kingdom and not Yours,
for seeking Your blessings

148. more than You,
for an incomplete
Christianity,
for mixed-up priorities,
for living for ourselves in
a Christian context,

149. for not seeing Your glory
all around us.
We repent.
Fill us again with your
Holy Spirit that we might
live to make You famous."
Amen