HOW TO PLEASE GOD
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.
We should make it our objective in life to please God in all we do.
It should be our desire to please the one who created us and holds our lives in His hands.
Acts 17:28
\’For in him we live and move and have our being.\’ As some of your own poets have said, \’We are his
offspring.\’
In this Hebrews 11:6, God gives us four requirements to please Him:
Have faith in Him, come to Him, believe He exists, believe He rewards those who seek Him.
1.FAITH
Confidence in his fidelity, confidence in His truth. Confidence in His wisdom, Confidence in His
Promises. (Fidelity means we have confidence that God is faithful to us)
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.
It is a blessing and a privilege to have faith in the Father. Not everyone was given that blessing.
God favored us with the ability to know Him. Not because there is any good in us, but because of His
Divine love.
Hebrews 12:2-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Faith should be continuously active in our lives. It is not a passive experience. You can’t exercise faith without doing something.
If you have faith in God, you will act in confidence with His guidance and directions.
To act in faith, you must decide to trust God before you act.
God gave us examples of people who pleased Him. By looking at the examples God gave us
In His Word, we can learn what He expects of us.
We can please Him with our walk
Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
God commends our faith with life in heaven
Enoch was dead to himself and alive in Christ.
Complete faith in the Lord ends life on earth,
Experiencedly we are here on earth. But by faith, positional we are alive in heaven.
WE CAN PLEASE HIM BY OUR OBEDIENCE
Noah was a man of faith. He heard the Word, believed the Word, and acted on the Word.
Genesis 6:13-16
So God said to Noah, \”I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with
violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So
make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it
and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450
feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within
18 inches of the top.
It had never rained before God told Him to build the Ark. For 100 years Noah and his sons
Built the Ark His Hope was the salvation of God.
Noah ministered to his family and the community with his faith
His actions were evidence of the flood.
Faith requires obedience
Faith ignores the voice of men and listens to the voice of God.
Faith is the building block of life. It stands on the Word of God
Faith is the design of life. It starts with a vision of hope.
The Ark became the temple of the Lord, a place of refuse.
Faith is long-suffering. For 100 years he endured the scorn of his neighbors
Faith seeks divine instruction
Faith receives divine instruction
Faith acts on divine instruction
Faith responds by sacrificial giving
Faith responds by continual service
Faith changes behavior
Ends jealousy
Ends envy
Ends hatred
Loves all
Becomes tolerant
Is forgiving
Seeks to be like Jesus
It is focused on the Lord’s work
- MUST COME TO HIM
Come – draw near, worship
WE PLEASE GOD BY COMING TO HIM
John 6:44
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at
the last day.
Do you realize you can be drawn to the Lord and not please Him.
All have sinned and fall short of His Glory.
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
Yet God opens the door for us to come to Him
From Abraham, we learn that faith is a journey in the righteousness of God.
Genesis 12:1-2
The Lord had said to Abram, \”Leave your country, your people, and your father\’s
household and go to the land I will show you. \”I will make you into a great nation and I
will bless you.
Coming to God we except faith as a gift from Him.
Romans 12:3 Each is given a measure of faith
When we come to God we moves from what we know to the unknown of God
Our coming does not question the commands of God.
Our coming does not doubt the Word of God.
Our coming separates us the living from the dead.
Our coming moves us from a physical being to a spiritual being
Our coming is the assurance of the promises of God.
Our coming is a growing process. A nation was grown from Abraham’s
obedience.
Abraham would never see the nation. At the time He had no son.
Abraham was the planted seed of the nation.
He believed in God and was counted as righteous.
We may not be able to fully understand God’s Word. But we have to build our
Lives on His promises.
- MUST BELIEVE THAT GOD EXIST
WE PLEASE GOD BY BELIEVING HE EXISTS
John 1:18
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, he hath declared him.
How do you believe what you can’t see? It’s in the verse. The Word has declared His
existence.
You got the testimony of mature saints that claim He is.
You have the voice of the Holy Spirit the lives inside you that declares His existence.
You have your testimony that declares His existence.
Jacob met God in a runaway situation. He was running from his brother.
If you believe that He exist, you will go to bed with Him on your mind
Genesis 28:12-13
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to
heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Faith is our stairway to heaven accompanied by the angels of God.
If you believe He exists, He will communicate to you through dreams and visions
If you believe He exists, you will commit to Him.
Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, \”If God will be with me and will watch over me on this
journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return
safely to my father\’s house, then the Lord will be my God
and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God\’s house, and of all that you give me I
will give you a tenth.\”
It took 20 years for Jacob to get back home.
If you believe God exists, you will make a vow to Him.
If you believe God exists, He will give you a testimony
If you believe God exists, you will give a tithe.
If you believe He exists, you will worship Him.
Psalms 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, Praise the Lord.
- BELIEVE THAT HE REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM
(earnestly= crave, to search out)
YOU PLEASE GOD BY BELIEVING IN HIS PROMISES.
2 Corinthians 1:20-22
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are \”Yes\” in Christ. And so through him, the \”Amen\” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Noah and his family were saved in the ark.
Joseph was rewarded with second in command in Egypt
Daniel was saved in the lion’s den
David became King of Israel
We are protected in this pandemic
You and I have a home in heaven
WHAT GOD DID FOR THEM, HE WILL DO FOR YOU
Malachi 3:6
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Rewards on earth
Peace
Joy
Assurance of needs
Justification
Sanctification
Relationship
Fellowship
A place of Refuse
My present help
My health and strength
He hears and answers prayers
Rewards in heaven
Home with Jesus
Eternal Worship
Eternal Joy
All Knowledge
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO PLEASE GOD
Thought questions:
Can you please God if you doubt any of His Word?
Can you please God if you ignore His Word to get along with others?
Do you have any responsibility to a brother or sister who you know are
Going against God’s Word?
Rev. M. Mitchell
