Setting Captives Free is a non-denominational ministry which teaches the biblical principles of freedom in Jesus Christ. Founder and President, Mike Cleveland, was captive to habitual sins for many years. He finally began to seek help and learned the biblical solution to his sin problem: repentance, forgiveness, and the newness of life that comes through the gospel. In January, 1999, Mike found forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ and God changed his heart. Since that time, he has been completely free from all forms of habitual sin, by God's grace.

The following year after Mike found freedom, he wrote an interactive course to teach the biblical principles of freedom in Christ. He placed the course on the Internet, and more than 800 people visited the website that first day.

Since that time, God has brought many men and women to freedom and victory through the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth of Scripture. A mentorship program was developed to teach these freed captives how to help free other captives, by God's grace. Focus Publishing soon began publishing the material in book format.

In the years to follow, many miracles of grace have been recounted, for God has been at work giving grace to those in the grip of sin, turning them from sin and to Christ. To date, nearly a quarter of a million people have gone through the biblical material either online or in book form. God continues to purify His church and free captives, to bring honor and glory to Himself.

Mike is pastor of preaching and vision at Ohio Valley Church. He is also an airline pilot with Continental Airlines and he and his wife, Jody, have six children. Mike has written seven books, is the speaker on "Setting Captives Free Radio," and is currently working on the "Olford Fellowship Program" at the Stephen Olford Center for Expository Preaching.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; Isaiah 61:1

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Chapter 1

What is it really like to glorify God with our lives? All Christians should have a burning desire to know the answer to this question, seeing that it is our "chief end" or main purpose to glorify God. Scripture tells us:

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. 1 Chronicles 16:29 (NIV)

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

You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NIV)

But how do we do this? Practically speaking, how does a Christian "ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name"? How do we "do it all for the glory of God?" What does it mean to "honor God with your body"?

Question 1. Would you please write out your thoughts regarding the answers to the above questions? Specifically, what does it mean to you to "do it all for the glory of God?"

Thomas Watson states that glorifying God consists in at least four things:

1. appreciation,
2. adoration,
3. affection, and
4. subjection.

It is the practical outworking of these four truths that I am seeking to learn and present in this handbook, so that you and I together would have a very clear understanding of how to "ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name" and how to "do it all for the glory of God", being careful to "honor God with our bodies."

In this course, I will present ten ways by which Christians may glorify God, and then offer suggestions on how to apply these truths. These ten truths are practical and convicting, hard-hitting and encouraging. They have the potential to change our lives, to set us apart from sin, to mold us into the image of Jesus Christ, and to provide assurance that our lives are not wasted but, rather, are spent in the worthy pursuit of honoring God.

Before we continue on, I want to share with you that when I first began reading the book by Thomas Watson called, "A Body of Divinity", I sensed I was on the verge of a growth spurt in my own Christian life. I looked at the title, read the introduction by Charles Spurgeon, examined the chapters briefly, and concluded that this teaching was as deep as it was wide, as practical as it was theological, and that it had the potential to make radical changes in my life.

I remember setting the book down and turning to the Lord, and I prayed a simple prayer. It went something like this: "Dear Lord, I’ve prayed for a long time now to understand what it means to glorify You with my life. I do not want to dishonor You any more than I already have, I do not want to live life wasting my days, barren of any real fruit. Would you please help me now to really learn these truths, to come to know experientially what it means to honor You with my body, and to apply all that I learn? In Jesus’ Name, Amen."

Question 2. You, too, are on the starting line of learning some truths that are very practical and that can be as life changing for you as they have been, and continue to be, for me. Would you like to take a moment right now and privately pray to the Lord for help in applying what you learn? If you would like to, you can write out your prayer here, and we will pray right along with you and for you as we receive your answers.

As mentioned above, glorifying God consists of appreciation, adoration, affection and subjection. We glorify that which we appreciate, adore, have affection for and are in subjection to. Before we proceed to the ten ways whereby we may glorify God, let us look for just a moment at each of these four concepts to see if we may gain some clarity as to their meaning:

1. Appreciation. To glorify God is to set Him highest in our thoughts and esteem Him above everything else.

For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. Psalms 97:9 (NIV)

There is in the very nature of God all that will bring out our wonder and delight, our awe and our worship. Watson says that there is in God "a constellation of beauties,"¹ which may be examined and adored, meditated on and delighted in throughout all eternity.

We glorify God when we are God-admirers: admiring all of His attributes (which shine like the rays from the sun); admiring His promises (which Watson describes as the "contracts and agreements to provide sinners with free grace"); admiring His power and wisdom in making the world (which is called "the work of His fingers" in Psalm 8:3); and admiring His spiritual cabinet (the Bible, where the "pearl of great price" is hid).

Yes, to glorify God is to have God-admiring thoughts, to esteem Him as most excellent, and to set our lives to searching for diamonds in this "Rock" only. This is what it is to glorify God.

2. Adoration. Adoration is worship. It is awe, reverence, respect and devotion.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. Psalms 29:2 (NIV)

Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Nehemiah 8:6 (NIV)

Worshipping God is giving God what is due Him, and God is very jealous of our worship. This is the apple of His eye, the pearl of His crown that He guards, as He did the Tree of Life with cherubim and a flaming sword so that no man would come near to it to violate it.

Divine worship of God must be according to the rules that God, Himself, prescribes for worship. Otherwise it is "offering strange fire" (see Leviticus 10:1). Moses had to make the tabernacle in the wilderness "according to the pattern the Lord had shown Him" on Mt. Sinai (Hebrews 8:5). Moses was not to leave out anything in the pattern, nor was he to add to it. If God was so exact about the place of worship, how exact must He be about the worship itself? Surely everything regarding worship must be according to the pattern prescribed in His Word.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh- Philippians 3:3 (NIV)

Question 3. According to Philippians 3:3 above, what characteristics of worship are presented?

Sam wrote, "For starters, only those who are of "the circumcision"---i.e., born-again believers by the grace of God alone, who are adopted as sons in Christ Jesus---can or will worship. When we worship, we worship by the Holy Spirit, who gives us the power and desire to worship God. (We cannot and will not worship God by our own "natural" power and desire, as these are corrupt; even though we have a new nature by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we must consciously seek His guidance in worshipping God in truth and love.) Secondly, we celebrate the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God Himself, who came to us in human flesh and perfectly kept the law of God, that He might take God's just wrath for our sins upon His own flesh and spirit. "Greater love hath no man than this," indeed! So in worshipping God we celebrate the finished work of Jesus Christ and His salvation for us. Finally, we look to our own poverty in acknowledging God's greatness and all-sufficiency. We have nothing of our own to offer God, nothing to recommend us to Him as in any way worthy of the privilege of worshipping Him. By His grace alone do we worship, just as, by His grace alone, are we capable of any service that pleases Him at all. We are saved by grace alone, kept and sanctified by grace alone, and will be glorified at the due time by grace alone! Praise God for His all-encompassing provision for us!"

3. Affection. God counts Himself glorified when He is loved.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV)