Sermon Central
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God Pleasers - Part 2
Contributed by Emile Wolfaardt on May 8, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: (PowerPoint Slides freely available by emailing Emile@Wolfaardt.com) Learning to live daily with one goal in mind - to please God.
God-Pleasers
Part Two
Last week we started a mini-series entitled God-Pleasers. I have come to understand that the place of extravagant blessing belongs to God-Pleasers. Victory over sin and defeat of Satan belongs to God-Pleasers. Moving the heavens and the earth and authority in the heavenly realm belongs to God-Pleasers. Enjoying the accolade of heaven and thrilling the heart of Father belongs to God-Pleasers. That is why . . .
Jesus says in John 8:29, “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
One of the great errors in our society is that most people in the world and even some in the church are not living to please God. Instead, they are living to please others or they are living to please themselves. If you stop and take stock you will realize that we live in an ego-centric society. All around us we see the ‘me’-centered advertising industry feeding a ‘me’-consumer mentality. The entertainment media and leisure-driven market is about ‘me.’ Pop-psychology, self-esteem focused religion, and indeed a thousand other cultural ‘me’-isms are all about ‘me.’
Joyce Meyers said, “I believe that we have an epidemic of insecure people in our society. And it causes people to need approval from wrong sources in order to feel good about themselves.”
Now watch this – God designed you to function optimally when the ambition of your life is to please Him.
When you live to please SELF you cannot please God.
When you live to please OTHERS you cannot please God.
Why? Because you are slave to the one you are trying to please.
So what does it mean to please God? Watch this – it is very, very important. If you do not get this you may get the whole thing in a mess. You are already approved of by God as far as who you are, your eternal security is concerned. You are not out there hoping to manage your behavior well enough so that God will save you. That is already a done deal if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and surrendered your life to Him as Lord and Savior – that is in the past. Your approval rating shot through the ceiling the moment you got clothed with Christ. Do you understand that? The good news is that your approval is based on the Father’s approval of who Christ is, not on what you do. However, that does not mean that everything you do is approved by God. Let me give you an earthly picture of this. Think of the things you do to please your spouse. You do not, or should, not do them to earn the approval of your spouse – but because you already enjoy the approval of your spouse.
Jesus did not do what He did in order to earn the approval of the Father- but because He already had the approval of the Father. As a matter of fact, before He even started to do what He did He had the approval of the Father. He commenced His public ministry with that approval – “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:7; 17:5.) Jesus lived as a God Pleaser because He was pleasing to God. It is very important that we understand that.
Make pleasing God your chief ambition – not so that you will please God but because you do please God.
Last week we agreed on four things that it described what God-Pleasers did. We said . . .
God-Pleasers Seek Intimacy
God-Pleasers Walk by Faith
God-Pleasers Worship as a Lifestyle
God-Pleasers Study Diligently
Are you ready for the next four profound commitments, life giving standards of God Pleasers?
5 God-Pleasers Commit to Justice, Kindness and Humility
Serving God is much more than an emotional experience.
Serving God is more than great worship and good music.
Serving God is more than reading our bibles and praying every day.
Serving God is more than keeping ourselves unspotted from the culture around us.
Serving God always is and always has been about others.
Doing JUSTICE is about knowing and pursuing God’s law rightly!
Showing KINDNESS is about knowing and honoring others rightly!
Walking HUMBLY is about knowing and presenting yourself rightly!
ALL THREE are about knowing and pleasing God rightly!
May I ask you this morning – are these that marks of your life? Do you pursue justice so intentionally that you do so to please God? Do you pursue kindness so intentionally that you do so to please God? Do you pursue humility so intentionally that you do so to please God? My friend, if you no longer make it your priority to embrace justice in all, kindness for all, humility to all you are no longer positioning yourself to please God.
