Making Your Father Smile
Ephesians 1:3-14
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Introduction: One of golf’s most interesting moments came in the 1870’s when a Scotchman came to America to promote the new game. To publicize the effort, his company arranged a demonstration with President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant watched curiously as the golfer carefully placing the ball on the tee. The Scotchman wanted to impress the president so he took an extra hard swing. Not a good idea!
The club hit the turf. Dirt flew everywhere. Every thing, including President Grant’s beard, was covered with tuffs of grass. When the dust cleared, the ball remained on the tee, totally unmoved. Again the Scotchman swung his club. Again he missed. The President waited patiently through six tries. Finally, Grant gave a sigh and then quietly stated, "There does seem to be a fair amount of exercise in the game, but I fail to see the purpose of the ball.”
Unfortunately that also describes a lot of people’s lives—a lot of action but no purpose! For many, life is a merry-go-round. The same old-same old day after day! Sometimes we feel like hamsters racing around and around in our whirly-gig wheels but still in the same old cage. Is there a better way? Can life, real life, have direction and purpose as well as busy-ness? That’s what our Forty Days of Purpose are about. For the next six weeks we are exploring the Bible’s answer to the question “What on earth am I here for?” We are looking at five biblical purposes outlined in the Creator’s Handbook for Life, the Bible. We will be using the terminology coined by author Rick Warren in this bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life. The wording is Warren’s but the principles are the Bible’s. Here are those five purposes: 1) we were planned for God’s pleasure, 2) formed for God’s family, 3) created for Christ’s likeness, 4) shaped for God’s service, and 5) made for God’s mission.
Let’s explore that first purpose today—we were planned for God’s pleasure. Pleasure may seem like a strange word to use in reference to God. We associate that word with sensuality, with purely physical things or appetites. None of those accurately relate to God.
Think of it like this. The Bible often speaks of things that please or displease God. That’s the heart of pleasure—something that pleases. Also, scripture says God delights in his people. The Bible also describes God as our Heavenly Father. Note how our text begins with that concept and then adds to it our adoption as his children.
Picture a parent and child. Mothers and fathers, grandparents, know what it is to delight in their children. Little ones especially can bring a smile to a parent’s face with the smallest word or action. A child doesn’t have to do anything or give anything to the parent. It may be quite the opposite. Some of a parent’s greatest delight comes in doing for their children. Just watching their joy or surprise is a source of priceless pleasure. That’s what we are talking about when we say we are planned for God’s pleasure.
So this is my question today. What brings delight to our Heavenly Father? What makes him smile? I think it happens the same way it does for human mothers and fathers. I can think of lots of things that can bring a smile to a father’s face. Today I will mention only two. Both are at the heart of our text.
The first and most basic thing that brings a smile to the Heavenly Father is our acknowledgement. All of us who are parents know what its like. When our young are little they want to be with Mom and Dad all the time. Anybody who has worked in the church nursery knows how hard it is for some little ones when their parents leave. A few are worrying about that right now.
Fortunately or unfortunately, our kids soon outgrow that problem and develop another one. About Jr. High age, a lot of kids suddenly develop an allergy to parents. I am sure no one here knows what I am talking about so let me explain. You say “hi” to them at a ball game. They turn to their friends as if to say, “Who was that old person?” They insist on walking two blocks ahead when you go shopping. When you ask them why, they just roll their eyes.
Most teenagers outgrow this too. But imagine if they didn’t. Nothing could be more heartbreaking to a parent than being rejected by your own child. On the other hand, nothing brings a smile to a parent’s face quicker than having a son or daughter acknowledge them and proudly introduce them to a friend. “Joey, here’s my dad. I want you to meet him.” Or imagine the smile on a parent’s face when a child that has rebelled, ran away, and not come home for a long time, finally comes back!
You were planned for God’s pleasure. He made you to love and for you to love him back. The Bible says we were made by him and for him. Just as with a parent, nothing hurts our Heavenly Father as much as when we act like he doesn’t exist, when we want nothing to do with him, or reject his attempts to show his love. Nothing brings delight to your Heavenly Father, a smile to his face, like our acknowledging him and coming home where we belong.
Look at our passage from Ephesians 1. This text confuses some people. Did you hear what it said? Listen to verse 11 again. “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will …” Some see the word predestined and conclude that God picks out certain people to be in his family and others he doesn’t. I understand why that idea bothers some people. That’s not what this is saying at all. This simply means that the message of Christ is not something God just thought up on the spur of the moment. It has been his plan all along. He made up his mind from the very beginning that there was only one way to eternity for human beings and that was through what Christ would do for us on the cross.
The Bible couldn’t be clearer. The Father wants every one in heaven. But he won’t force anyone. Listen to 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Or 2 Peter 3:9, “[The Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance.” Note how verse 13 clarifies the earlier part of Ephesians 1, “And you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked …with the promised Holy Spirit.” The Father wants everyone to come to him and takes pleasure when we do!
I want to pause here to make something as clear as I possibly can. The Bible says Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. He paid the price for your sins and all the times you have ignored your Heavenly Father and rejected his will. The Heavenly Father offers you forgiveness and wants to welcome you into his family. That can’t happen until you personally acknowledge him, claim him as your father, and accept his forgiveness. When you do that pleases him very much!
Right now I want everyone to bow your head and close your eyes. Even if you have been a follower of Jesus for years and years and have acknowledged him many times before, I want to ask you to do the same thing. This may be the first step of something very, very important for someone sitting near you. If you are a veteran follower of Jesus, I invite you to pray for those sitting around you for whom this may be a new step this morning.
With heads bowed and eyes closed, I ask you this, “Do you believe that God loves you and wants you to be a part of his forever family? Do you realize that you have disappointed and rejected his love many times in many ways? Do you understand that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, to bring you back to God? Do you realize that through Christ, God offers you forgiveness and a fresh start no matter what you have done or how far you have strayed or how long you have ignored him? Do you want his forgiveness? Do you accept that gift?
I invite you to pray, to tell God that you acknowledge him as your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as your savior. You don’t have to pray out loud. He hears our silent petitions. Do this, only if you really mean it. “Lord, I acknowledge you as my Heavenly Father. I accept your gift of forgiveness through Jesus. I want to come home and be part of your family. In Jesus Name, Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer for the first time, you just brought a great big smile to your Heavenly Father. Jesus said, “There is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15: 7, 10). You’ve done something very important. You’ve taken the first step of the most important journey of your life. There are more steps to come. But this is the first. If you prayed that for the first time and really meant it, I invite you to come to the front when we sing our decision hymn. I want to help you continue to bring a smile to your Father’s face.
That’s the first way that we can bring a smile to our Father’s face—acknowledge him and the grace he offers through Jesus Christ. There is a second way—appreciation. What parent doesn’t take delight in a heartfelt thank you from his child? What grandparent doesn’t break out in smile when your grandchild sends you a personal note of appreciation for a gift or maybe just a special time you spent together? Many of us know how much it means to have our adult children take the time to tell us how much they appreciate something we have done.
The heavenly Father is no different. He delights in our appreciation. There’s a word for this. That’s ultimately what worship is all about. We were planned for God’s pleasure. A great big part of our reason for being here on earth is to praise God’s glory. Did you catch how many times that expression comes up in our text? Three times the passage says we were chosen and saved for “for praise of his glory.” We were made to worship God. That pleases him very much.
Listen to Romans 12:1. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” What are we to do? Worship. Why are we to do it? In view of God’s mercy. How are we to do it? By offering our whole lives to him. What happens when we do this? This is pleasing to God. The Father smiles.
Most of us tend to have some mistaken notions about worship. First, we think worship is about us. Remember how The Purpose Driven Life begins. “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment…” As long as we define everything in terms of what we get out of it, we will never understand what it means to be planned for God’s pleasure. Worship is about God. Worship is not for us. It’s not about what we like or don’t like. Real worship is about making our Heavenly Father smile!
One hundred fifty years ago, Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard provided the classic definition of worship. He said (I am paraphrasing) that many of us think church is like a theater. The audience sits in the pews. The preacher and singers stand on the stage and perform. The bulletin is the program. Kierkegaard insisted we are part right. Church is like a theater. Only we have it backwards. The people in the pews are not the audience. They are the performers. Those up front are the prompters. The bulletin contains the script. In reality, there’s an audience of ONE. Worship is not for us. It’s for God. Worship that comes from the heart-felt, genuine faith of his children delights God. It brings a smile to the Heavenly Father.
There’s a second common mistaken notion about worship. We think worship is what we do in church on Sundays. Some even think that the singing, or only certain kinds of singing, is worship. Worship is much bigger than that. Worship is a life-style. It is a living demonstration of our acknowledgement and appreciation of God. The Bible says, “whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col 3:17). Hebrews 13:16 puts it this way, “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Our Father smiles when our lives reflect his love and holiness.
Conclusion: You were planned for God’s pleasure. He loves you, wants to bless you, and takes delight when you love him back with acknowledgement and appreciation. Early in the Old Testament, the Lord gave the Jewish priests a special prayer of blessing. That’s my prayer for you today. Listen to the New Living Translation of Numbers 6:24-26. “May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.” I truly pray that happens!
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
