“Pleasing God”
May 6, 2012
Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
I know a lot of people. I am friends with a lot of people. Nate, my grandson, said one time when where were at a store and a number of people said ‘hi’ to me, “Grandpa, you sure know a lot of people!” Last week, when Leon and I went into a cafe for breakfast and about a half a dozen people greeted me, he said, “Does anyone in town NOT know you?” I said, “There must be a few!”
I love people. Each one is like a book to me. Each one has a story and each story is fascinating. I have friends from every walk of life - Buddhist, Christians, New Agers, cults, Jews and Gentiles alike. I am friends with cops and some criminals; I am friends with the 1% as well as the 99%. And God has given me a love for them all. Do I agree with them all – of course not – but I don’t have to be disagreeable about it or disrespectful.
I wouldn’t say I am a people pleaser – but I like to please people. I haven’t always been this way. At one time I could care less what anyone thought of me. I did and said whatever I felt like – no matter who it hurt. But God has changed my heart. One of my college professors said, “You will never be able to win anyone to the Lord or minister to anyone who doesn’t like you.”
There is a lot of wisdom there. But as much as I like to please people – I want to please God more. He saved me from an eternity of hell and a life of meaninglessness. He replaced my hate with love. He gave my life purpose. He replaced my tears of sorrow with love and joy. How could I NOT want to please Him in every way? And God has shown me a few ways that I can please Him. I want to share a few of them with you who long to please the Lord as well. This is not a complete list – but here are a few things I have found that please the Lord.
First, let me share why it is so important to please the Lord.
“Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
Galatians 6:8
Pleasing the Lord results in great reward, not only for eternity, but even for the here and now. Jesus said anything we give up for him will be rewarded a hundredfold. But more importantly – pleasing God is a natural expression of loving God. If you love Him – you will want to please Him. If you don’t care what God thinks – you really don’t have love in your heart for Him.
The Bible says: “find out what pleases the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10
Here are some suggestions of what pleases the Lord.
First, our thoughts. Everything pretty much starts in our brains. Everything pretty much starts in our thoughts. The Bible says,
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
“May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.”
Psalm 104:34
What is going on in our thought life will bleed through to our actions. Someone said, “You are what you eat.” I think it is more accurate to say, “You are what you think.” What consumes your thoughts? What do you think of when you are relaxing? Some people are consumed with fast cars, or fast girls, or fast money. Some are consumed with thoughts of sickness or failure or disaster. God says,
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deut. 6:6-9
God wants us to think on Him and His will for our lives. We need to choose to meditate of God. It is so hard – at least for me. There are so many things demanding my attention - demanding my thoughts – but if we want to please God we need to get into the habit of thinking about Him and what pleases Him.
Secondly, talking to God pleases Him. The Word says,
“The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.” Prov. 15:8
Isn’t that cool? Your prayer PLEASES God! He longs to hear your words. It doesn’t matter much what you say – He just loves to hear from His child. Mostly what He hears is, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.” How pleasing to Him to hears words of praise and gratitude from you. How pleasing to Him to hear words of love and affection from you. It is like fragrant perfume, He says.
David prayed morning, noon, and night. Jesus taught us to pray daily. Paul taught us to be in prayer continually. I’ll let you work out your prayer time with the Lord – but I want you to know that is pleases God when you talk with Him. Do it often.
Thirdly, our surrendered bodies please God. The Word of God says,
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1
Some Christians haven’t surrendered the flesh to the Lord. The cravings of the flesh are too powerful to them. The destructive habits that we know are not pleasing to the Lord have such a hold on us that we continue to walk after the flesh and not in the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit can empower us. He can give us victory over the flesh. We can be ‘overcomers’ John says, by the Holy Spirit. When our bodies are fully surrendered to the Lord - this pleases God.
Fourth, Joyful Service is pleasing to the Lord.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.”
Romans 14:17-18
We live to serve. Service to the King should be an expression of our love for Him. If we neglect our duty; if we serve half heartedly or grudgingly, it hurts us, hinders the Kingdom and disappoints God. And who hasn’t served in this way. We come to the Lord in the flesh. We come desiring to BE served rather than TO serve. I clearly remember being a reluctant servant. I remember pastoring because I HAD to. God called me – but I didn’t want to do it. But somewhere along the line – He changed my heart. Rather than a chore it became a pleasure. Rather than a burden it became a blessing. Rather than serving God grudgingly – I began to serve Him joyfully. And this pleases God.
I don’t know what God has called you to do – but I know He has called you to something. He has given you special gifts; He has given you special talents; He has called you – choose you, to go and bear much fruit. Are you doing it? And if you are – are you doing it joyfully? Serving in joy pleases God.
Another thing that pleases God is our 5. Financial Gifts.
“I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Phil 4:18
Let me explain what a gift is not. It is not a tithe. A tithe is the first ten percent we make. It is to go to God for the building of the Kingdom. We really don’t have a choice in the matter. God said it. We do it. It is an obligation.
A gift is above the tithe. A gift is something you don’t HAVE to give. A gift is something you WANT to give. It is yours. You earned it by God’s grace. You worked for it. You can use it however you want. But if you choose to use it for God – it is a fragrant offering. It is an acceptable sacrifice. It is pleasing to God.
Do you know, 6. Being Responsible is pleasing to God? The Bible says,
“But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.” 1 Timothy 5:4
It pleases God when we take care of our family. It pleases God to take care of our parents and grandparents. It pleases God to help the widow and single mom, and the needy. God does not want us to be irresponsible and selfish. God does not want the government to take care of us. That was never intended by God or our forefathers. It only happens because individuals are not living up to their responsibility. It happens because churches are not living up to their responsibility. It pleases God when we provide for our families. Listen to what the Bible has to say about those who don’t:
“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
1 Timothy 5:8
WHOA! Does the Bible really say that? Yes it does. God is not pleased with laziness or irresponsibity. He is NOT pleased if we do not provide for our families. The Bible says that that person has denied the faith. He is WORSE than and unbeliever. Those are some pretty harsh words. But there’s more. Listen.
“No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list.” 1 Timothy 5:9-11
Sometimes we think we have an obligation as Christians to just give to everyone. The early church didn’t. The early church had some pretty high standard for helping people. Maybe we ought to as well. The Bible is clear one this one thing, that we ought to provide for our families. This pleases the Lord.
7. Our Faith pleases the Lord. Look at our beginning Scripture again.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. If that is true (and it is) we ought to have a clear understanding of faith. Here it is. Most of you already know it. Faith is preceded by a revelation from God. In other words, He makes His will known to us. He tells us to not to lie, steal or covet. He told Abram to sacrifice his son to Him. We believe this is His will. It may not make sense to us – but we believe this will please God. We trust Him (all things work out for good for those who do). Abraham so believe God, so trusted Him – that he believed if he obeyed God that God would raise his son back to life again (Hebrews 11:19) and then we act. Abram took his son up the mountain, carrying wood for the fire and a knife to kill him with. He acted. When God asks us to do something, we believe, trust and act. Those three things –together – are faith. And without faith it is impossible to believe God.
And it is impossible to have faith it you do not believe God is real and that He rewards those who EARNESTLY seek Him. Half-heartedness doesn’t please God. Lukewarm Christians don’t please God. Uncommitted Christians do not please God. But those who earnestly seek Him, those who believe in Him and believe He will reward you; those who live by faith please the Lord. May we live to please the Lord. May we have the attitude Paul did. He said,
“So we make it our goal to please him...” 2 Corinthians 5:9
Make it your goal in life to please the Lord. It will be worth it. The Word says,
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Gal 6:9
Don’t give up. Never quit. Keep pushing forward. It will be worth it. You will reap a harvest; you will reap abundance – if you do not give up.
SONG: “Create in me a Clean Heart”
