Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
How the Gospel Brings Us To Glory
Introduction: The more I learn about what God has done for us in Christ, the more I am amazed at the Serpent’s answer to Eve when she quoted God’s restriction on eating the tree of knowledge of good and evil: “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…” There are two observations we might have from this text:
And yet, God created us in his image—“Well sure,” we say, “But we sinned, and that hope is all gone. Besides, we will never be like God, we are just lucky to get to heaven!”
That may be the common belief, but there are two verses that we have talked about previously that counter that belief.
Let’s explore what glory is and how the Gospel brings us glory.
As one Spirit put it, “There is always something they insist on keeping even at the price of misery.”
Lewis takes the gamble and allows an embodied spirit to show him around. Soon he observes a stunning woman who is truly impressive. Her name is Sarah Smith. When he asks about her, the angel tells him she is from Golders Green, a typical London suburb in Lewis’s day. On earth, in terms of human fame, she was entirely nondescript during her lifetime—just ordinary. Yet the angel explains: “Aye. She is one of the great ones. Ye have heard that fame in this country and fame on earth are two quite different things.” As the angel continues to speak, Lewis discovers that fame in heaven comes from helping others become glorious too. Lewis asks, “And who are all these young men and women on each side?” The angel replies, “They are her sons and daughters.” Lewis states, ‘She must have had a very large family, Sir.”
But Lewis is astonished when he discovers how Sarah Smith became famous with God: by sourcing her life in Christ’s glory, her own glory had begun to spill over to others. Sarah’s glorious fame did not detract from that of others. It only enhanced others’ glory.”
Conclusion: Have you ever thought about what it will be like to see each other again in that heavenly kingdom? In some ways it seems that it will be utterly shocking. In this life we will have followed our Savior in beholding his glory, gradually transformed from our old self to a new, glorious self. But it will never be complete until that final day when we are united with the Lord.
Each of us sees our flaws and are frustrated by them. As we grow and conquer some, we begin to see others, and other people see these flaws in us. But on that day, we will see each other in a new light – a person clothed in glory without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish. Crowned with honor; crowned with glory!
Until that time, such hope should cause us to look at each other quite differently. There is a “glorious us” awaiting.
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