Do you know what will happen in 2026? Does anyone know the future? What will the political landscape look like? What will the economic landscape look like? What about your health? Your job? What about any major weather catastrophes? If any? What will the spiritual landscape be in 2026? We don’t know the future. We are not God. God knows. He directs the future.
This I can be sure of: whatever spiritual movement God has planned for 2026, I want MCBC to be involved. I want to be involved, and I want you to be involved. Saying that, if I were to cast a prayer into 2026 for Muddy Creek Baptist Church, in fact for the whole Church universally, it would be the prayer of our Scripture text this morning.
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
We should read that over a few times. Why? We should want it to sink in and saturate the inside of us. We should want it to seek out within our inner being whatever pride and self-righteousness have taken a stand in our hearts. Like on a battlefield, where pride has taken a stand, the spirit of prayer has been defeated, weakened at least.
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” What does it mean, “to your name give glory”? When it refers to His name, it refers to who He is. His name represents who He is. Our name refers to who we are, in character and attributes. So it is with God.
To “give glory” to Him is to give Him honor and credit and praise for all that He does. The text refers to His steadfast love and faithfulness. Give Him glory for his steadfast love and faithfulness. I’m getting ahead of myself.
What does it mean, “for the sake of” or “because”? It means “in order to promote or advance.” In other words, “Glorify your name that your name may be promoted and advanced before others.” Advance and promote your great power to save; your kindness and extraordinary love; your grace and forgiveness.” “We do not want the credit and honor for all that you do! Let the world see how great you are!”
This is similar to Ezekiel 36:22 — “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, …”
This second part of this verse is interesting. Hold on, because your theology may be shaken and have to be adjusted to Scripture. It says, “for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.” One scholar points out that these two attributes of God (steadfast love and Faithfulness) most accurately describe Yahweh’s attitude toward his people. [1] This is how Yahweh is towards those who belong to Him, His people. I love that! This is how God is most accurately described towards us, His people. Steadfast love and faithful!
This verse of scripture within the context of this chapter is telling us to pray, “Lord, let the people and nations see and know of your Steadfast Love (Mercy & Goodness) and your Faithfulness that you show towards those who belong to you—to your people, those who have come to belong to Jesus Christ by faith in the saving work on the cross. Who have become your very own children through the blood of Jesus Christ.”
He shows His steadfast love and faithfulness towards and through His people—who are the church, that those who do not know his personal and covenant love and faithfulness will see and be drawn to know such a good God. That is an incredible truth to find.
This is how Yahweh is towards those who belong to Him. But not so with those who are not His. This is important. Remember, we extrapolate the meaning of scripture and then apply it. Some of you may believe that God shows the same love and faithfulness to all people, Christians and non-Christians. This has been taught and preached to us with well-meaning hearts, but is that what the Bible teaches about God? It does not. In the Old Testament, did God show the same steadfast love and faithfulness to the pagan nations that He did to Israel? Did He show steadfast love and faithfulness to the Egyptians and Pharaoh who enslaved Israel? Absolutely not.
Does God the Father show the same steadfast love and faithfulness to those who curse the name of His Son, Jesus Christ? On Judgment Day, will He show the same steadfast love and faithfulness to those He will wage war against and pour out wrath upon? On Judgement Day, when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats before the Great White Throne Judgment, will He show the same steadfast love and faithfulness to those He rejects and casts into outer darkness (Matt. 25:31-46)? The answers are clearly no. Is it not written that God loved Jacob and hated Esau (Rom. 9:13)? The Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ. Is His heart not different towards His Bride than those who are not?
One of the great things about MCBC is that we teach God’s word without watering it down or compromising it to appease our man-made beliefs or views of what God should and shouldn’t be. We do not pour our beliefs (theology) into a verse to make it fit what we want it to say. Right? The Bible says the truth, and that settles it. That means we will ruffle feathers to be true to God’s Word and true to God’s Character. Amen.
With a better understanding of the context of this verse of scripture, a simple way to read it may be: “Because you are loyal and always love us—your people, we must honor you and you only, Lord; we must not honor ourselves.” Our response should be, “O God, cause the steadfast love and faithfulness that you show us to be seen by others, so that they will be jealous for your love and faithfulness!”
This takes us to the first application of Psalm 115:1. Make this your prayer in 2026. Make it your prayer for your family, yourself, and your church. Pray this for your home, workplace, school, and the marketplace. Pray it when you are changing diapers, teaching your kids math, or doing your hobbies. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! And, let your steadfast love and faithfulness be seen and heard in all that I do! May you get the credit and glory for who I am and what I do. Amen.”
Someone may wonder, does He deserve this, all the credit and glory? Absolutely. The Christian has come to know that God does deserve all glory and credit. We learned this when we came to know His salvation, the forgiveness and saving of our souls. We do not share any credit for our salvation. He did it all, everything pertaining to you and me being saved, forgiven, and a child of God. This may be most evident from Ephesians 2:4–6.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Taking a close look at these verses, notice what God did, and what you didn’t do. Paul points to God and places Him as the source, “but God.” Paul says our spiritual state was spiritually dead in our sins. In this spiritual state, God (“even when we were dead in our trespasses” made us alive spiritually. But God didn’t stop there. He, not us, made us alive together with Christ. He raised us up with Him, and He seated us with Him, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. How much did you and I do in all of this glorious work of salvation and becoming a child of God? None. We couldn’t do anything because we were spiritually dead in our sins. Spiritually dead means helpless and lost spiritually. (See Rom. 5:6-8) Ephesians 2:1 makes our desperate, lifeless, and sinful condition clear.
Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says that Christians cannot boast or take any credit for being saved and born again in Christ. It is 100% the work of God, “lest you boast.” There is only God to receive credit and glory for your salvation from your sin and the wrath of God.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV) — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The self-righteous person (those who give credit to themselves for any good that is in them) will say, “I pulled myself up and broke some bad habits, and now I’m a good person. I’m a different person, yes, sir. I turned over a new leaf. I got my act together. God helped me when I couldn’t do it myself.”
But I ask this self-righteous person, “When I hear your boasting in your efforts, who is getting the glory and credit? Is it not you?” Scripture says that it is God who blows His resurrection life into the dead soul and makes him/her alive together with Christ. He raises them from spiritual death in their sins. He breathes His Spirit into the person.
We also see in scripture that God alone receives the credit for ministry to others. He is the one who causes spiritual growth. 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 says,
1 Corinthians 3:6–7 (NIV) — planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
Notice our role in ministry to others. We sow “God’s Seed” into people’s lives. Notice God’s role. “But God has been making it grow,” and “But only God who makes things grow.” We can labor to help people and do good deeds, but only God can make their hearts come alive and spiritually grow. This is why we can easily say, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” He does the work!
The Christian should never say in his/her heart or from his lips, “The power of my hand and strong mind has obtained this advantage in life (Deut. 8:7).” The Christian should never say in his/her heart or from his lips: “It is because of my righteousness and goodness that the Lord has done these great things in my life.” (Deut. 9:4) The Christian should always be ready to say in his/her heart or from his lips: “Not to me, but unto Your name give glory.” (Jn.12:27:28)
The second application I want to bring out is how we can live this prayer before others. We do this the way God did to us: giving grace to others as He gave grace to us. What does that look like? Forgive others and yourself; show kindness; encourage others with the Word of God; and build others up with gentleness and love.
As God has given you grace, you give grace to others. This includes giving yourself grace. Many believers do not forgive themselves, though God has forgiven them. Many hold themselves up to an impossible standard of righteousness and beat themselves with a rod of guilt for not meeting it. They need to give themselves grace.
Jesus said, “Freely as you have received, freely give.”
What if you give grace and give grace and give grace, but a person pushes it away? They refuse and refuse the grace you are trying to give? Jesus answered that. When He sent His disciples out to preach the Gospel and heal the sick, cast out demons--give grace, he said, “If they will not accept you, brush the dust off of your feet and go onto the next town.” Some people refuse to accept the love and kindness that you are giving freely to them. If you have tried and tried to give to them and they refuse, move on. Your heart has given them love; leave it at that and move on. Some people have a stubborn heart and refuse to accept grace and love.
To live out Psalm 115:1, you also need humility. This means being humble before God and fellow man. Yes, humble towards others. Over the last few years, a simple, small book has had a profound impact on many within this church. It is called “Humility: The Journey towards Holiness” by Andrew Murray. I recommend getting this book and devouring it.
Regarding humility, John Riskin once said, “I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a ... feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them.”
Ruskin went on to quote from Andrew Murray’s book, Humility: “The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed before him. He can bear to hear others praised while he is forgotten because ... he has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and who sought not His own honor. Therefore, in putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, he has put on the heart of compassion, kindness, meekness, longsuffering, and humility.”
One of the things that makes MCBC special is that the Spirit of God works grace and humility in this body of believers. I may be biased, but I see a genuine pursuit of humility. We pursue authentic love. We pursue giving Jesus the glory and honor for who we are and what we do. We want self-righteousness and fake piety to be uncomfortable. We want to be in a place where people can be people. Where you don’t have to pretend to have it all together. We want to be a part of a community of faith where we can be real with each other. There is a freedom in that depth of liberty. We are a community of Christians who enjoy God together and who want to grow in Christ Jesus!
The third application of Psalm 115:1 is how we tie all of this together. From this Scripture, we have guidance as to the goal of our Prayers; the type of life to live before others; the outcome of our good works and deeds; and the purpose of all ministry. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.” It is not what pleases us individually or as a church. It is not about us. We are not trying to exalt or promote Muddy Creek Baptist Church. We want Christ Jesus to be the one who is credited: his power, His Love, and His truth.
I have previously shared that I am not in favor of marketing MCBC like a business or sports team would promote itself. It is not about us. It’s about Him. Do I think MCBC is a good, healthy place for sinners and believers to come? Absolutely.
Too many Christians forget whose church this is; it is Jesus’. They forget who is building the church, He is. Jesus said, “I will build my church … (Matthew 16:18).” In those five words from Jesus, we know whose church it is and who will build it. The answer is Jesus on both accounts. Man can build buildings, but Jesus builds His Church. Also, reference Acts 2:42; 5:14; 11:24.
I believe this is a biblical church where the Spirit of God pours out life and love. But we do not change hearts, and we cannot cause growth in the heart. Therefore, we want to promote Jesus. He saves, He sets free, He feeds the hungry and poor, He heals the broken, and sets free the captive. Not us; not MCBC. We are the glove to His hand. It is His hand doing the work by His Spirit. We are not going to try to give ourselves a name. We already have a name to promote!
For the final application to Psalm 115:1, we will look at 1 Corinthians 3:8–9.
(NIV) The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
The scripture says that we have one purpose: Planters and Waterers. We are co-workers in God’s service.
In 2026, we will labor together in God’s service. We will plant the seeds of the Gospel in children and adults. We will labor to do this near and far. We will do it in many forms, but the seed will always be God’s seeds, and we will always say, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
We want His kingdom to grow. We want hearts to be set free by the power of the Gospel, not by our power. We will not play religious; we will labor with a purpose—to advance and promote the Kingdom of God. And we’ll do it God’s Way. We’ll do it for His name’s sake. As the front of the bulletin says,
“We are a Community of Christians, Enjoying God Together, Engaged in Sharing the Kingdom of God, That the Goodness and Greatness of Jesus Christ will be Experienced.”
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