Four Ways to Bring Pleasure to God | Bible Study | Mike Prah
The most fundamental question in life is, Why am I here? Am I fulfilling God’s purposes for our life. The Bible is very clear on why we’re here.
“For You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created” Revelation 4:11 (KJV)
“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what You pleased.” Revelation 4:11 (NLT)
- Nothing is more important than pleasing God. We bring pleasure to God when we worship Him.
- Worship is so much bigger than the songs we sing. Church services can be worship experiences, but we’re called to worship throughout our entire life—not just on the weekend.
- God says worship isn’t what you do with your lips; it’s what you do with your life. You can preach the greatest sermons or sing the most beautiful songs with Christ-centered lyrics and still not worship God.
“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 (NIV)
“So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer.” Romans 12:1 (GN)
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering” Romans 12:1 (MSG).
This verse is a good example of a life that makes God smile.
How can your life bring pleasure to God?
1. You Bring Pleasure to God When You Love Him Above Everything Else
“I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me” Hosea 6:6 (LB)
- You can lead people to faith in Jesus every day. You could become a leader in your community. All of those are great, God-honoring activities. But you can do them and still miss the two most important things God wants from you: To know Him and to love Him.
- God doesn’t just want to use you. He created you and saved you to have a loving relationship with you.
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.” 1 John 4:9-10, 16-17 (NLT)
2. You Bring Pleasure to God When You Trust Him Completely
“The Lord treasures the people who honor Him, the people who wait for His faithful love” (Psalm 147:11 CEB)
- You trust God completely when you recognize that He knows what’s best for your life. When you do that, you begin to trust God for the impossible.
- You and I serve a big God. He’s bigger than we can even imagine. We bring God pleasure when we take risks for him in faith.
3. You Bring Pleasure to God When You Obey Him Wholeheartedly
“Here is what it means to love God. We love him by obeying His commands” (1 John 5:3 NIRV).
- You can’t earn your way to salvation by doing good deeds. You can’t earn being born again any more than you earned your first birth. But just like your parents smiled when you obeyed them, God smiles when we obey his commands.
“The way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” Colossians 1:10 (NLT)
“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.” Romans 14:17-18 (NLT)
“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 4:12-14 (NLT)
What does it look like to obey God wholeheartedly?
— Obey without reservations. Hold nothing back.
— Don’t procrastinate. Delayed obedience is disobedience.
— Obey completely. Don’t pick and choose what to obey.
— Obey joyfully.
Obedience isn’t easy. It will be inconvenient sometimes, even for those of us who have been Christians for decades. Obedience will cost you. But with obedience comes the smile of God.
4. You Bring Pleasure to God When You Fulfill His Purposes
God delights in seeing believers walk by faith and fulfill His purposes for our lives as His grace empowers them.
“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 4:12-14 (NLT)
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalm 37:23 (NLT)
- God smiles when we do what He created us to do.
- It’s like the words of the Olympic runner, Eric Liddell, who was the subject of the movie Chariots of Fire. He said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” If God makes you a runner, He takes pleasure in you running.
“God was pleased to trust us with His message. We didn’t speak to please people, but to please God who knows our motives” 1 Thessalonians 2:4: (CEV).