Most of the obvious ways of bringing glory to God, I believe, we already know. So what I have tried to touch on in this essay is some of the less obvious ways of glorifying God.

Let's start again at the beginning - our very reason for being a Christian in the first place, or for being alive physically, or anything else that we may do, is to bring glory to God almighty. That principle is the beginning and end of everything.

Paul told the Thessalonians (1 Thess 2: 11-12) that he had exhorted and comforted and charged every one of them, as a father does his children, that they "would be worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory." It is very necessary for us to know how to glorify God. That is what we have been called to do.

1. 1 Chr. 29:10-11 (After David had gathered all the things necessary for Solomon to build God's temple, he and all the people rejoiced.) "Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all." David showed that he recognized his position in God's creation, and he recognized God's position as well.
2. Peter and John were thrown into prison (Acts 4:3) for preaching Jesus, and the next day they were commanded to neither teach nor speak in the name of Jesus (vs. 18), and then they were further threatened before they were turned loose (vs. 21) because there was nothing for which they could be charged. Now, let's look at Acts 4:24-31 for a beautiful prayer that glorifies God.
   24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
   25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
   26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
   27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
   28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
   29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
   30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
   31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
   

1. The first way we bring glory to God is by believing in Him, and believing what He says. This may seem obvious, but it seems to be amazingly hard to do. Jesus, at Lazarus's tomb, told Martha, (John 11:40) "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God." He is, of course, speaking of the power of God's glory about to be revealed in the raising of her brother, Lazarus. Rom. 4:20 "He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; Paul, speaking of judgment day, says in 2 Thess. 1:9-10 "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe...." Why does believing God bring glory to Him? It causes us to learn to trust Him, and allows us to step out and do things that we would not otherwise do. If we have to see things in our hands, or be able to sense them with our senses before we will believe, then we are not walking by faith. Heb. 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I once heard a man quote that, and then say, "That's what I believe, too. I believe you need to see some substance, and some evidence before you step out on faith." My mind reeled, and I thought "Just how mixed up can you get? That's just the opposite of what the verse says."

2. Tied hand in hand with believing in God is trusting in Him.

Abraham was strong in faith, and trusted God. Rom. 4:1-2 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God." Eph. 1:12 "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

3. Another way we bring glory to God is by confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. Phil. 2:11 "Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This, of course, involves more than merely saying the words. And it was not at all popular 2000 years ago. It's not terribly popular today, though some have decided that that is a way to be popular. They think of it sort of like being for the underdog. It's a nice gesture, and it makes the person doing it come across in a favorable light, and there's no great risk in it either, so why not confess Jesus?

But confessing that Jesus is Lord (with a capital 'L') must mean that He is God! He is in charge of our lives! We belong to Him, not ourselves! He owns everything that we have. We own nothing. We, without Him, are nothing. We, without Him, can be nothing, and can do nothing. He is LORD. When we admit that Jesus is Lord, we bring glory to God since it was His plan that made Jesus Lord in the first place.

4. Another way we bring glory to God is by aiming our life at that purpose. 1 Cor 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." "Whatsoever ye do" leaves a lot of unexplored territory. This idea of "authoritative silence of the scriptures" gets us in a lot of trouble. I like the old saying that we used to have, "Speak where the bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent." If our lives are aimed at bringing glory to God, we can say with Paul, "All things are lawful to me, but not all things are expedient." We'll be able to make wise, and good choices, even in matters of liberty, because our goal is correct.

5. Another way to bring glory to God is by fruitfulness in our lives.

John 15:8 "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."

One of the types of fruit we are to bear is the salvation of others: to add one more voice to the hallelujah chorus.

2 Cor. 4:7-15
(07) But we have this treasure [gospel of Jesus Christ] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [It's a wonderful treasure, but it's in a crummy box. And if anybody is ever impressed with the treasure, we know it's not because of the box that it's in. It's only because of the power of God, not the skill of men, that anyone is ever saved.]
(08) We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
(09) Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
(10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
(11) For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
(12) So then death worketh in us, but life in you. [Can't you just feel the urgency with which Paul wanted to win souls to God. He was willing to suffer anything.]
(13) We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
(14) Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
(15) For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

There's no other reason to live, once we're saved, than to save someone else. If we were saved just to have a good time together, God would take us out of here so we could get on with fellowship in heaven, and get away from all the people who are messing up the fellowship here on earth. But He doesn't. He leaves us here. Neither does He leave us here to just learn more and more about Him, or to increase our knowledge in spiritual matters (though we should do those things while we are here). If God wanted us to JUST increase our knowledge, and learn more about Him, He would take us on home to be with Him as soon as we're saved, where we would have perfect understanding and knowledge, something we'll never have as long as we are here. No, we are left here on earth after we've been saved to save someone else.

The New Testament is full of examples of this. One example is in Matt. 15:29-31 - "And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel."

Another example of good works bringing about glory to God is in Acts 3:8. "And he [the lame man who had been healed] leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God."

And we can see the end result in Acts 4:21 "...for all men glorified God for that which was done." How would you like to be a lame beggar, always looking up at everyone as they walked by, always asking for some spare change, and then have someone come along and heal you right there on the spot? You would, no doubt, experience great joy! How about if you were blind like Bartimaeus, and you were given your sight? How about if you were dead like Lazarus, and you were given life? How about if you were a filthy, vile, rotten begging, blind, dead sinner like all of us once were, and you were washed clean, and made whole, and given sight, and given life, and on top of it all you were given a mansion in heaven, would you then have reason to glorify God? Would you be anxious to see the Lord return?

We may not do much healing today, but we can still have good works. Eph. 2:10 says we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works." 2 Tim. 3:17 says we should be "thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

6. Another way to bring glory to God is through Prayer: John 14:13 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." So, when our prayers are answered, it's not just an accident. It's for a purpose, to bring glory to God. Praise Him for answered prayers.

7. Another way we bring glory to God is by observing the wonderful works He has done, and giving Him credit for them. Isa. 63:11-14 "...Where is he that put his holy spirit within him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name."

Rev. 4:11 (The 24 elders speaking) "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." One doesn't have to look very far to find something in the natural world that is so amazing that it, by its very nature, glorifies God.

8. Another way we bring glory to God is by our oneness, or likemindedness. Rom. 15:6 "That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33). We should speak as with one mouth and one voice. John 13:35 "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciple, that ye love one another."

9. Another way to bring glory to God is by being a good employee, employer, student, citizen, or whatever we are in this world. 1 Tim. 6:1 "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed." Eph. 6:5-8 "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eye service, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free."

Don't think that because you're a Christian, you can get by with less than your best. When we work, we are really working for the Lord. We are putting our Christianity into practice. And it doesn't make us a worse employee, employer, student, citizen, church goer, and/or family member. In fact, it will make us a better one. It is just as immoral to do sloppy work on the job just because you know someone else will cover your mistakes, as it is to steal from the company. In fact, it's the same thing.

10. Another way that we bring glory to God is by our obedience. I want to deal with that in length, so I'll save it for next time.