What does it mean to live a life that pleases God?
Our main text is found in COLOSSIANS 1:9-14.
’For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you, and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may have a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption - the forgiveness of sins.’
The first thing we learn from this passage is that the Apostle Paul wrote some very long sentences, didn’t he? But what else can we take from this passage?
1. THE LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD BEARS FRUIT
The idea of "bearing fruit" is not that foreign to us. If we purchased a fruit tree, planted it, and took care of it, we would expect it to bear fruit within a couple of years, wouldn’t we? If it did not bear any fruit, or if it didn’t bear the fruit we were expecting, we would consider the tree defective.
In MATTHEW 7:15-17, Jesus says the same is true of people who profess having a Godly faith.
’Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.’
How can we tell if someone is saying they are a Christian but in reality, they aren’t? We can tell by watching their lives. If there is not a change in they way they live their daily life, then we can conclude there is no change in their hearts. Our heart and our lives go together - they are not separate.
Now it is important that when we plant a tree, it will take a period of time before it can bear fruit. You don’t get any good fruit the first year you plant a fruit tree. It takes time for the tree to mature. The same is true for followers of Christ. The change might not be immediately discernable. However, over time we should be seeing a difference in the way people live.
Even the disciples, who showed much fruit in their lives, took three years of constant training by Jesus. So, do not be quick to judge, but rather patient in your understanding of others who have received Jesus as Savior.
Listen to these words of Paul to the Galatians. Paul contrasts the life of the sinful nature and the "fruit of the Spirit." Listen to the way it is worded in the New Living Translation,
Galatians 5:16-26
’When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.’
When a person makes that bold decision to follow the Lord, the Holy Spirit will start changing their hearts from the inside out. Among the changes will be:
... Those who had been selfish will begin sharing in the name of God.
... Those who cheat others will begin to be honest.
... Those living a contrary to God’s law will change their lifestyle.
In other words, if we are in the Lord and He is in us, and if our desire is to please our Lord, we will bear much fruit.
2. IF YOU LOVE GOD, YOU WILL WANT TO KNOW HIM BETTER
The life that pleases God is the one that is always trying to know Him better. But in order to understand what I am talking about, let me state two negatives.
Knowing God better is not the same thing as getting more from Him. Many of us are only concerned with how we can have God do things for us. We want to know how to get our prayers answered, or how to get God to fix all our problems so we can go on and keep living the happy life we want to live.
You have heard me say that knowing about Jesus is not the same thing as knowing Jesus. In that same context, learning to grow in God is not the same thing as learning ’how’ to grow in Him. We can spend all our time mastering information about how to grow in God and not ever put it to use to actually do any growing.
The life that pleases God is the one that yearns to know more about God so you can learn how you can know Him better. I think this kind of person, reads the Bible not primarily for factual information but to discern the heart of God. They look for direction more than they do information.
Their prayer is not totally consumed with requests. They take time to work on their relationship with God. They want to read or be taught anything that might help them know God better. They are like I was when I met Diana.
I saw Diana from a distance. Then, by manipulating a couple of friends, I met her. After I met her, I found that I could not keep my mind from thinking about her. I knew I just had to get to know her better. I had to find things out about her that would help me draw closer to her. I had a need in my heart, and that need was to have this relationship grow deeper and deeper.
In the same way, when we fall in love with God, we have a need in our hearts that will give us the desire to have our understanding of Him more complete.
People who do this are careful to make sure they are seeking God’s absolute truth and not just seeking ammunition to defend their own personal agendas. I have to remind myself that I am to read the Bible not just for sermon ideas, but because I desire to know God better and better.
If we want to please God, then we are to grow in our knowledge of Him and develop a relationship with Him.
3. TO PLEASE GOD, WE MUST BE TRULY GRATEFUL TO HIM
Have you ever noticed how much we complain? We complain about the weather when we should be grateful that we are here to enjoy it. We complain about our income when we should be grateful that we even have an income. And we complain about the government when we should be grateful we don’t live in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan. We complain about how long the waitress takes when we should be grateful we have money to go to a restaurant.
I think the worst thing about us is that too many of us complain about how others aren’t as spiritual as we are. We are too busy to point fingers at how others worship, as if we were the only ones who have it down right. We should be grateful that God has not given all of us the same duties or feelings.
We complain about how others are wrecking the church with their ideas when we should be grateful God has introduced new ideas into the church to help it grow.
I could go on and on, showing example after example of how we live our lives in an ungodly mode by murmuring and disputing when we should just get on our knees and thank our God for letting us be here to enjoy what He is doing in our lives, in our churches and in our families.
We seem to think that if God really loved us He would let more things go the way we think they should go; that we would have fewer problems; or that we should have more money. And at the same time we do this, go to Him in prayer and tell Him we thank Him for all He has done for us. Let me ask you a very pointed question: If you were God, would you believe us?
Gratitude begins when we realize just how very much we do not deserve anything we ask God for. Gratitude begins when we realize just how much we do not deserve what Jesus did for us. We should spend every waking moment being grateful that God, by His Spirit, has pulled us from the very pits of Hell. The Lord has taken our worthless life and set it on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. We must think often of where we would be if He had not drawn us to Him, instead of thinking of how much we want or how we want things to go our way.
An attitude of gratitude begins to grow as we learn to open our eyes to the blessings we take for granted. When was the last time you thanked God for the breath you were able to take, or the blue sky, or the song of a robin?
A father and son were sitting at the dining room table, waiting for the wife to bring dinner to the table. When the food was finally placed on the table, the father asked the son to say the blessings.
The son said, "Dear God, I have no idea what that stuff is, but thank you anyway for providing it."
We need to thank the Lord, not just for the successes in our lives, but for everything.
When was the last time you thanked God for the Bible, or for your church that allows you to worship Him? When is the last time you thanked Him for a church that has children in it?
And when is the last time you actually apologized to God for the way you sometimes think or act? We need to be grateful for the many blessings of love that we take for granted.
We have absolutely no idea just how great our Lord is. We have no clue as to His mighty power. And because of that, we do not understand just how much gratitude we should feel to Him.
But, as we study His words and His actions, we will grow more attuned to His wonderful character. And as we do that, we will grow in our gratitude that we are united with the One who is so magnificent.
Will the Victory Singers please come back on stage?
The life that really pleases the Lord bears the fruit of a Christian. It strives to grow in the knowledge of God, and continually tries to be grateful for every thing that is in their lives.
All of us have unworthy hearts and thoughts. None of us are as grateful as we should be to the Lord. I pray that these words have touched your hearts and that it may bring you closer to the Lord as you meditate upon His Words.
I ask myself a question every day. That question is, "What does God expect from me today?" I will tell you right now that this is sometimes a very hard question to answer. But, by answering it truthfully, and in detail, I am brought back closer to Him than I was before I answered it. May I suggest that you ask yourself the same question each morning?
In the passage I read, Paul is pointing to a goal. The goal is to draw closer to God through Christ. This is what we should want, not what we already have.
Is your life pleasing to God today? God is not concerned with where you have been, but with where you are going. You can start today, by living a life that will please the Lord; a life that focuses on what He wants, not on what you want.
A pastor was in his office, pacing the floor, frustrated. His secretary walked in and saw him and asked, "What’s the matter, pastor?" He said, "I’m in a hurry and God isn’t!"
The pastor needed to check himself. He needed to put his personal agenda aside so that God could use him to accomplish God’s agenda. It is only when we make ourselves available to God that we live the life that is truly pleasing to Him.
INVITATION
