When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Colossians 3:4.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
It is not so much whether you are getting glory in a place as to whether your motive in that place is giving Me glory as your God that made everything and gives every good thing given and every perfect gift. If your motivation is towards Me in what you are doing and not merely in seeking self-glorification, I will see to your glory and bring your gifts before great men.
He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. John 7:18.
Seek to give Jesus glory and yours will follow His.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. Ephesians 6:6-8.
Do your work onto Me and not just onto men.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:17.
Jesus talked to you about this. You should not be volunteering at church or elsewhere, praying or giving to the poor or anything else just so people will notice you and say how wonderful you are. That is being proud and seeking human glorification of yourself. And pride does not get you any rewards in the Kingdom. That is the devil’s downfall. Pride goes before a fall, but humility comes before riches and honor.
If you are offended when you have done something for your church or at your job, and then later, at a meeting or service the pastor at your church or your boss at work makes some new appointees to a certain work stand up and get applause for something you have been doing for years and never received recognition in the past or in the present, if you get offended and angry and never want to go back there, be careful! The question then is, who did you do it for? Was it for Me because you love and honor Me, were you doing it to give Me glory with your life, or were you doing it for human recognition and self-glorification?
I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” John 5:43-44.
How do you give Me glory? How do you know you are doing that with your life? Let Jesus tell you:
I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. John 17:4-5.
Jesus sought only to glorify Me. Everything He did when people began praising Him, He told them that He only spoke the Words I told Him and only did the works I showed Him. He was merely doing the works I gave Him to do as a good and faithful servant, yes, as My beloved Son who always did what pleased Me.
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.” John 5:29-20.
What is the work I gave you to do that you must finish to give Me the glory upon the earth?
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8.
Jesus told you that you must become humble as little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and in fact, a little child is the greatest in Heaven. Little children are teachable and follow their parent with joy. They are carefree, all the care is on the parent to heal, support, and bless them, to guard them and keep them safe, to see to their past, present, and future and to be their source of comfort and strength, to see to all their needs. And that is how I desire to be for you. But it does not mean that you remain childish and do not do great works of excellence in the Kingdom. Think of Joseph, Jacob’s son, who was the favorite son of his father. His brothers, in their jealousy, bound him, threw him in a pit, and then sold him for twenty pieces of silver into slave traffic. When the slave traders took him down to Egypt, a place where he was a stranger and did not even know the language, Joseph was sold to a government official who had a farm. But I was with Joseph because he stayed with Me. He kept himself reminded of My presence and did everything he did to please Me. He did not give in to offense, anger and bitterness towards his brothers but choosing to put it out of his mind he went forward to learn all he needed to know of the language, the country, and agriculture to become a good and faithful slave. And I was with him and I prospered his efforts.
Joseph had a heart for Me and was interested in walking with Me so I walked with him. He wanted to fulfill the dreams I had given him, he was eager to carry out My business, and so I was right there to see to his promotion so he could do that. His life of wholehearted service brought Me to serve him. Jesus came to serve not to be served and in seeing Him you see Me.
In his prosperity as a servant there came a trial that catapulted him on to new adventures to be in the right place at the right time. Even though it was not My Will that Potiphar’s wife seek to tempt Joseph into adultery and lie about him, I tempt no man, James 1:13. I can make all things work together for good when you have responded to Me and I can protect you. He stayed faithful to Me through her wiles and threats and did not give in. She thought no one would know if she had an adulterous affair with Joseph, but she did not take into account Joseph’s relationship with Me. He knew I saw, and he told her he would not do such a thing in My sight. Well, that made her seek revenge in her anger at being spurned and she got him sentenced to prison. Things looked over, but Joseph knew Me and he continued with his good attitude and became an excellent and responsible prisoner that came to the notice of the jailer, who then entrusted all the care of the prison’s daily operations and dealing with the inmates to Joseph. In his service to others in the prison, he interpreted the dreams of two prisoners, telling them that he could get the interpretation from Me, taking no credit to himself, Genesis 40:8, and the way he interpreted them proved true. He humbly asked the one who benefitted to remember him before Pharaoh as he did not really belong in the prison, but in stating that, he said nothing about his brothers or Potiphar’s wife.
Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison house. For I was in fact stolen away from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into this dungeon (pit).” Genesis 40:14-15.
Two full years later, when Pharaoh needed a dream he had interpreted, the cup bearer remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh. Joseph interpreted the dream but made it clear to Pharaoh that it was not to Joseph’s glory but Mine as I was the one who gave him the interpretation. And Joseph did not give him only the interpretation, but the solution of how to overcome seven years of famine.
Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” Genesis 41:16.
That spoke to Pharaoh as a humble servant of integrity that he could trust who knew how to access wisdom and understanding in a supernatural way.
Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. Genesis 41:38-43.
It brought Me glory so I in turn glorified Joseph in the kingdom of Egypt and in My heavenly Kingdom as well. I had brought his gift before the man of the highest position in the greatest Empire of that day. But better yet. I advanced him in My Kingdom as a good and faithful servant. And he is with Me in glory even today, still living for the praise of My glory which rests on him forever.
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. John 17:22-24.
Joseph and Jesus have a lot in common, and so should you, for as Jesus is so are you in this world. 1 John 4:16-17. Jesus came to serve Me and you, and as I sent Him so He sends you. And that is what you and all My followers do, servants to Me and to one another, but I have gone further for when you are in Jesus you are all My family and family is not in the same class as a mere servant. You will dwell in My household forever shining with eternal glory as you reign with Me, your Father, your Beloved, and your friend. Song of Songs 5:16.
And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation 22:5.
Just remember, you do not need to be looking so hard at others, your business is to follow Me along the path I have prepared for you.
Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” John 21:20-22.
But you are not on this journey alone. I have sent you some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of you, My followers, for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until you all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13.
I love you. Before you get offended, evaluate if you are there for giving Me glory or for your own glory and I think you will love better and stronger and have great peace because you and I know who you are and why you are doing what you do. And I will reward you richly.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-6.