Pleasing God

The Audience of One Series:

Pleasing God

Hebrews 11:1-6

Theme: God gives us great reasons for living for the audience of One.

Introduction: Perhaps as we have gone through this series, you may ask yourself, why would I want to live for the audience of One? The world we live in is one which craves public attention. Audience attention is sought after by so many whether it be on stage, in movies, or in social media platforms. Some believers are cast into a public audience by no fault of their own or any desire on their part.

The underlying desire of every Christian should be to please the audience of One. This means we will not please the audience of the world. Notice these words very carefully.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

These words give us a reminder that believers will not please the world and when you live for Christ, you will be hated by the world. You cannot be a friend to God and a friend to the world.

The believers in Hebrews 11 speak of those who desired to please the audience of One. They were believers who walked by faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Enoch was v. 5 pleasing to God. This means he was determined to please and honor God with his life. While others in his day chose to live like the world, think like the world, he chose to life for God. It has been suggested that he pleased God so much that God said, Enoch you don’t need to go home to earthly home anymore, you just come on up. He did not see death and simply went up which obviously is a picture of the rapture.

When you look through Hebrews 11, you see a list of men and women who lived for the audience of One. Tonight, we will give the reasons why they and we should live for the audience of One. Why we should please God.

I. Because God knows everything

A. Present life

1. Adam thought he could hide from God as many believe today Gen. 3:8-10

2. To know that God should motivate me to live for the audience of One.

3. He is fully aware of what is going on, what I am thinking, and what I say. The God of glory sees and hears.

4. When I gossip or criticize or sow discord God sees and hears, or when I share the gospel or do something for Him that nobody else sees or knows, be assured God knows.

5. When I preach or when I sing or when I serve, it is His approval we do it for and not for anyone else.

6. When I speak to my wife or others, God hears. When I speak to people good or bad, either on an airplane, on an Uber ride, or ticket counter God hears. When I make a Facebook post or when I am home on the internet alone, God sees and knows.

7. Knowing that He knows what is going on in my present life, motivates me to live for the audience of One. When I am not recognized, He knows.

8. It is most comforting to know God knows because when I am broken or low or mistreated or lied about or spoken evil of, He knows. When I am under financial pressure or am sick or feel depressed, God knows.

9. We must realize there is not a thought, a motive, a heartbreak, or action God does not know or see.

B. Future life

“A God who does not know the future is not God at all” (Augustine)

1. He knows the end from the beginning

“Remember the former things of old: For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times the things that are not yet done, Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do all my pleasure:” (Isaiah 46:9–10)

2. When God knows it means only God knows things we can never know.

3. To know in II Cor. 11:11 means God knows what we know

“Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.” (2 Corinthians 11:11)

“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.” (2 Corinthians 11:31) and then it also means God knows what we do not know both now and the future “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)” (2 Corinthians 12:2–3)

4. God knows what we will face next week, next month, next year. God knows when and where the storms will be, He knows the problems we will face, He knows the pathway across trouble in our lives.

5. Nobody knows or is qualified to know the future like God Himself-we may not know a difficult verse about the future, but God knows. We do not know why God allows evil and suffering to continue, but He knows.

6. He has infinite wisdom and knows exactly how and what I should do next-if He gives me the presence of the Holy Spirit to lead me, I won’t fail.

7. When it comes to prayer, God knows what we need before we ask Him; yet, He wants us to ask which is the biblical way.

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:8)

God knows about us

1. Our frailties-our weaknesses. We all have them. Mine may not be yours or yours mine, but our weaknesses doesn’t cause God to be turned away from me-He loves us just the same

2. He knows our feelings. When Hagar ran from Sarai, God stepped in to show Hagar that He cared for her-Gen. 16:13 “thou God seest me.” Sometimes in our lowest points is where we can see God’s glory and be changed.

3. He knows our frame-Psalm 103:14-we are dust-He knows we are created out of dust, yet Psalm 139:14 “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God knows we struggle in sin and God sent His Son Jesus to take care of our sin so we can have a relationship with Him.

4. He knows our future-“But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;” (Daniel 2:28). He knows the end of time, the exact day of Jesus’s return, when our last day on this earth will be.

II. Because it is the road to joy

A. By honoring God

1. If you focus in your life on pleasing God, you will have joy in your life and save yourself regret later down the road.

2. Enoch chose to purposely please God in all that he did. This was his testimony and his desire-honor God.

3. The know that we have 24/7 direct line to the audience of One leads to an abundant life and joy-this is where the Holy Spirit fills me with joy

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,” (Galatians 5:22)

4. When you pursue the righteousness of God, joy is a by product

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17)

5. We all want and need more joy which only comes when we are conscious of an audience of One.

B. By focusing on God

1. To focus on God doesn’t mean we ignore our work responsibilities or our families or our daily activities. It simply means we put God in the center of those activities.

2. Our focus is to make sure God is not just a part but is the focal point of what we do.

3. At school for teens or children, what we say, how we act, and the school work we do all should be with the focus: this is God’s will for my life. When I work at the city, or the warehouse or the hospital or wherever, this is God’s will for my life and I want to labor for the audience of One.

4. Work can be filled with joy when we know we are pleasing God with our work.

5. Knowing that we please God, brings a joy that is beyond our understanding. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” (1 Peter 1:8)

III. Because it points to God alone

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16)

A. Relieves the pressure on ourselves

1. When we consider the audience of One in our daily lives, it takes the pressure off us having to perform. All our righteousness are as filthy rags.

2. The only goodness we have is in Him and so we can turn our attention towards Him.

3. Since we are sinners the only thing good in us is Him and so we don’t have to perform or try, we give all the glory to Him.

B. Shines the perfection on Jesus

1. Jesus says our good works will point to Him rather than ourselves.

2. The good works we are able to do is because of what He does in our lives.

3. As you glorify the audience of One, we have captured the very essence of the Christian life.

Conclusion: Are you pleasing God today? If Enoch could please God in a world of violence and immorality and paganism in his day, we can also please Him today.