Pleasing God

[Cris413]

What is pleasing to God?

How do we please Him....or not?

Do we do things out of obedience or a desire to please Him....is there a difference?

 

[JoeWill]

"What is the difference between doing things for God out of obedience rather than from a desire to please Him?"

That puts me in mind of yesterday's sermon at church. That Jesus said if anyone loves him, they will obey his commands, and Father and Son will make their home with them.

So relationship with God seems to me to be given as the motivating factor for obedience. And perhaps obedience is presented as something that emerges as a matter of course out of that relationship.

At the moment I don't feel like I want it to be any more complicated than that.

 

[ContentInHim]

I like what Joe said.

After I was born again I knew I could not continue to live as I had, so I put as much (mis-)behavior away as I could. Stuff I could not willing put away, I did to be obedient. Apparently it has been pleasing to the Father and the Son as I have been very blessed. The more blessed I was, the more I sought to please and the more obediant I have become. That said, there's still a long way to go!

 

[-~Truth_N_Trust~-]

Hi Cris!

I think pleasing God comes down to a few things:

Preparing our Hearts, Listening/hearing, ACTING, and passing it on.

Here's a verse from Ezra I read this morning:

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel." Ezra 7:10 It is preceeded by the words "according to the good hand of his God upon him."

 

[liftmeup]

The ultimate key is this:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength."

Why? Well, if there is a God and He is the God we think He is, he deserves it! He most certainly does. In fact none of us could ever adequately love God the way he deserves, but if we give it our best He will be pleased I am sure!

There is no greater motivation force in the world than love. Jesus was very clear about this being the greatest commandment, because He knew, very obviously that if you get this one right, all the rest just flows from it - the desire to please God, obey all his commandments and be fruitful for his glory. When we are lukewarm or indifferent we go astray...

Really try and understand how important and amazing God is for your life - without Him there really is nothing! When you grasp that you are on the way.

Matthew 5:6
Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!

If you struggle with finding that love, which is the key, ask God sincerely for the grace to love Him as you should. He promises to answer this prayer, which may be one of he most pleasing prayers you can ask Him.

God bless.

 

[JustAsIam77]

What is pleasing to God?

How do we please Him....or not?

Do we do things out of obedience or a desire to please Him....is there a difference?

I think loving Him above all else is pleasing to Him. This scripture passage was a hard one for me to digest for a long time.

Matthew 10:37 (King James Version)


"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

I wrestled with this for quite some time.

 

[JimfromOhio]

There are only two possible ways to God. One involved your work, your effort, your righteousness, your goodness. The other acknowledges that you have none of that which pleases God. It either involves something you do to please God or nothing you do to please God and there can’t be any other way. Through the Holy Spirit, in our humility we hungered and thirsted for the righteousness that we knew we can't attain on our own. Purity of heart comes after you've hungered and thirsted for Christ's righteousness. Faith comes only when the outward fact penetrates to the inner heart of man and takes possession of him there and this is the work of the Spirit, not man. I desire to do God's will out of love and obedience as if I am after God's own heart. Nothing holy and genuine will be done in someone's life until their will is surrendered in active obedience to the Holy Spirit. This is between the believer and God.

Reading Romans 8:14 says, “Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God." We are to “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days (Prov. 19:20) because “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Prov. 12:15). Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (See also: Ecclesiastes 9:10; Romans 12:11; I Corinthians 15:5-8; Ephesians 6:7,8.) If we lack wisdom, we are commanded to ask God for it. "It will be given to him", the wisdom we seek will be ours (cf. Matt. 7:7-11). James says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5). If we believe that God is sovereign, and He is, if we believe that God orders all circumstances to accomplish His own holy purpose, then we can be content in anything because everything is under control. Discontent comes when we want to control everything. . Jesus said, “Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:34). Lamentations 3:23 tells us His mercies “are new every morning.” “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever” (Heb. 13:8). That means He will be doing the same thing tomorrow that He was doing yesterday.

 

[JustAsIam77]

Abraham was pleasing to God. Why? His love and total commitment to the Lord.

I can't fathom that he would have killed his son if God asked him to do so.

Conversely, God DID sacrifice His only Son for us.

 

[desmalia]

John Piper has this one down pretty good.

Is God concerned more about our holiness than our happiness? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

 

[JustAsIam77]

John Piper has this one down pretty good.

Is God concerned more about our holiness than our happiness? :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

I like John Piper. Thanks for the link.

 

[childofmercy]

This is a verse I think gives a clear understanding of the nature of the Lord and what he wants from us. Nice and simple. May it bless.

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

I believe by this verse we can see He desires a relationship with Him. To know Him. To love Him. And none by our works.

 

[JustAsIam77]

This is a verse I think gives a clear understanding of the nature of the Lord and what he wants from us. Nice and simple. May it bless.

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

I believe by this verse we can see He desires a relationship with Him. To know Him. To love Him. And none by our works.

 

[childofmercy]

thank you

 

[Cris413]

God always amazes me. I set out with this thread to share (teach) some things that have been placed on my heart through a study on “Pleasing God” by Kay Smith.

Often times I set out to minister to someone and I end up being ministered to as well. I set out to “teach” (which apparently I don’t have that gift) and I end up learning….How great is our God!

Wonderful insight in these posts! Thank you all.

KJV Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

NKJV Rev 4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created."


God created us for His pleasure! That’s the whole reason for our existence. Fellowship with God, Master and Creator of ALL things.

Col 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Col 1:17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

And what totally blows me away....the relationship God seeks with each and every one of us....is that of a Father and child. And when we set our hearts and minds to please Him....to spend time with Him...to learn from Him...through Christ Jesus...by the power of the Holy Spirit....I believe He delights in His children.

Knowing God Through Love
1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
1Jn 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1Jn 4:9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
1Jn 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
　
Seeing God Through Love
1Jn 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
1Jn 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
1Jn 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
1Jn 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
　
The Consummation of Love
1Jn 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
1Jn 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

 

[MrJim]

Great stuff here..

 

[Serious Faith]

Love is not a feeling but a choice. There are times when we are not going to feel like obeying God, but we still must make the choice to obey out of our love for Him. Realseriousfaith.com